Possession
by yuji-i16
Summary: SemiAU. When TenTen is hurt, it's Neji's life that goes downhill. Devolping NejiTen with hints of ShikaIno. COMPLETED AT LONG LAST! Now with EPILOGUE!
1. Chapter 1

I've been working on this story for a while, in fact it's hampered my ability to work on my original fiction, so I decided I might as well put it out there. If anyone in this story is OOC it's for one of the following reasons.

I don't have all the facts The facts I do have I've ignored or twisted to my own ends, aka to suit the plot.  Regarding Kotetsu, I know.  Consider it a bit of random weirdness.  I don't like Original characters much, and we don't know about his past or TenTen's, I think. I'm not the type to do much research I didn't come up with Naruto or the characters in it in the first place, so what do you expect? 

**Chapter One**

He was so angry that everything hurt.  He wanted to break something, anything, just to get rid of the helpless feeling the doctor's news had given him.  He'd considered breaking the man's neck for a few moments, but that would only hurt her instead of helping her.

Of all the girls in Konoha, why had they decided to hurt her?  She was his.  Even if he'd never acknowledged her feelings, her undying love made her his.

Their sensei had showed up almost immediately, not his usual happy-go-lucky self.  Since her parents weren't available, he'd been the first to see her, and when he exited the room had pulled the doctor aside and spoken to him for at least half an hour.

"Hyuuga-kun?" The nurse addressed him tentatively.  "The doctor wishes to see you in the young lady's hospital room."

Neji stood and followed the older woman in.  The older man was standing over TenTen's still body with a clipboard, registering her vital signs.  He turned to look at him as soon as Neji entered.   "Ahh...so you must be the infamous Neji-kun.  She's mentioned you a lot in her sleep."

He nodded.  He didn't care about what she muttered in her sleep.  "Who did this to her?"

"We're not sure who beat her up, but you can rest assured that the jounin will find out." He cleared his throat.  "Hyuuga-kun, I am told that you're her closest friend."

He grunted in response.

"When she wakes up and realizes what happens to her she'll probably want to make a lot of changes in her life.  She may not even want to be a ninja anymore."

"I don't think so.  She wanted to be the greatest kunoichi who ever lived."

"People's dreams change after tragic events."

"Just what exactly happened to her?" Neji questioned, getting frustrated with his own ignorance.  Gai had mentioned that TenTen had been attacked, but he'd assumed that she'd only been beat up, now the doctor was suggesting something more that he wasn't ready to admit could have happened to her.

The doctor sighed and pushed the glasses back up onto his nose bridge.  "She was brutally raped.  Judging from the bruises on her body it could not have been done by just one person, so we think it may have been done by a team of three genin, perhaps even from Konoha.  Foreigners or not, it'll probably be very difficult to unearth their identies since they left no DNA evidence on her body."

Neji's usually unemotional eyes became tinted with anger.  "Are you saying they'll get away with this?"

He sighed.  "It is possible.  However, I think a memory loss jutsu was used on her.  While it was intended to make her forget their faces, it may prove to be vital evidence."

He didn't respond to the doctor, instead he watched the girl sleep peacefully.

"Neji-kun, it is vital that you listen to what I have to say next." He folded his hands behind his back.  "It would be foolish of you to decide to become an avenger.  The last thing she needs is for you to get killed for her sake.  Instead, you should spend much more time with her than you usually do, helping her to get over what's happened to her."

Neji ignored the man's advice.  "I will do what I see fit."

"Hyuugas always think they don't have to follow the rules." The doctor muttered, leaving the boy alone with his genin teammate.

Neji was not happy.  Both of his teammates were useless, part-time residents in the same hospital, and it seemed like the doctors wanted to keep him under lock and key as well.  He glanced at the girl lying still on the bed.  "I don't care who it was who hurt you, I'll kill them all." Happy with his oath, he left the hospital room.

Before he could leave the building Gai appeared in front of him.  "Neji."

"Don't say anything to me."

Gai sighed.  "So he told you what happened then?"

The boy didn't reply.

"Don't worry about her.  She'll be okay."

"I wasn't worried."

"Oh." Gai looked sad for a moment.  "Don't put any pressure on yourself.  Lee and TenTen will be okay soon."

"I'm not stupid Gai-sensei.  Lee may recover, but TenTen will never be the same." At that he stormed off towards his house.  As he was passing Ichiraku his stomach growled loudly and he realized that he hadn't eaten yet for the day.  When Gai-sensei had fetched him to visit TenTen he'd been in the middle of rigorous training and hadn't paused for breakfast.  He pointed his feet into the ramen shop.  It was loud, noisy and overcrowded, just like it usually was.  Neji shuffled to a stool and climbed on.

"What'll you have?"

"Large." As much as he tried, he couldn't block out the swirl of conversations around him.

"Just wait Iruka-sensei.  I'll be Hokage before you know it."

"I'm sure you will Naruto."

"When do you think they'll assign you to your new team Shikamaru?"

"I dunno.  Don't really care."

"I better get going.  My younger sister's in the hospital and I promised my folks I'd take care of her."

"I heard about what happened.  I hope they find the bastards who did it, skin them alive and dip them in hot oil."

A stool was pushed back from the door and Neji heard feet shuffling towards the door.  However, they stopped three feet short of its chosen target, standing instead, directly behind Neji.  A large hand tightened around his shoulder.  "Neji, right?"

The boy didn't acknowledge him, but to his dismay the elder man kept talking.

"You were pretty impressive in the Chuunin exam finals."

"I lost.  I was weak."

"Only from your point of view.  A lot of people in this village think you're strong, including my sister."

"I don't have time for girls with mindless crushes."

Neji could almost hear the smile in the man's voice.  "For a man who says that you sure spend a lot of time with her."

The boy shrugged off his hand and turned to face him.  He quickly recognized him as one of the two chuunin that tried to rough up his team before the exam even began.  Hagane Kotetsu.  "TenTen never mentioned a brother."

"She never talks much about herself, but she never gets tired of talking about other people." Kotetsu noticed the boy's melancholy mood.  "I take it you've been to see her then?" The chuunin took the empty stool next to him.

Neji spun back around and accepted his bowl of ramen.  "Hai."

"How was she?"

He shook his head.

"That bad huh?" Kotetsu stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Neji ate his noodles in silence for a while before he decided to vocalize the question that was currently gnawing away at his brain.  "If you're her brother, then why haven't you visited her already?"

"Honestly kid, I just haven't had the courage.  No brother ever wants to acknowledge that something this horrible happened to his sister and he was powerless to help."

"Delaying your visit won't change what's already happened.  TenTen was raped and none of us could've protected her."

Kotetsu stood to his feet.  "I don't believe that.  I know for a fact that I could've protected her.  I should've walked her home instead of hanging out with Izumo."

"Destiny is unavoidable.  If you were there they would've just waited to catch her alone."

"Hmm...maybe you're right." He turned in the direction of the door.  "Still, I don't like that it happened to her."

"Neither do I."

"Ja." Kotetsu left Ichiraku for the hospital.

The more Neji thought about what had happened to TenTen the more aggravated he became.  He was so lost in his angry thoughts that he failed to realize that he'd snapped the chopsticks in his right hand and it was now bleeding.

"Check this guy out." Ino pointed.  "Think he's having a nervous breakdown?"

Shikamaru followed her finger.  "I wouldn't be surprised.  He never seemed like he was all there."

Ignoring their comments, the pain in his hand, and the irate noodle shop owner yelling about his lack of payment, Neji stood up and stumbled out the door.  He had been sure that TenTen's predicament had not affected him emotionally.  He had lamented the fact that he and his squad would be left behind once again due to injuries, and he was angry that someone would dare to assault a member of his squad in such a cowardly manner, but he now felt something more.  Kotetsu's conversation had awoken hidden pain inside him in a corner of his heart he didn't think he had.  A place where he regarded TenTen and Rock Lee as more than just comrades, but as friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't worry about updates.  I've got the first ten chapters typed and stored on my computer.  I'll update tomorrow, but school starts on Monday, so the next update will be Wednesday and after that on Saturday.  If I get a lot of encouraging reviews, I may be persuaded to update sooner.

As always, I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter Two**

Naruto had been calmly having lunch with Iruka (well, calmly for him anyway) when he saw the white-eyed genin start freaking out.  Though clumsy with words and despite often coming off as an idiot, Naruto had a big heart, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the older boy.  "Eh, Iruka-sensei." He adjusted his forehead protector.  "I'll be right back." He ran outside and paused in front of the door to Ichiraku, looking left and right for any trace of Neji.  The blonde preteen finally glimpsed the long-haired genin walking down the street and chased after him.  Luckily, the streets weren't too crowded and it wasn't long before he caught up to him on a bridge overlooking a small river.

"What do you want Naruto?" Neji didn't even bother facing him.

"To help." Naruto searched for the proper words.  "You seem sad inside."

"Go away."

"There's nothing wrong with being sad when something terrible happens.  It's only natural.  I mean, you can even cry if you want to."

Neji scoffed at the boy's idiocy and faced him.  "You think I'd cry?"

"No, but you shouldn't hold it inside.  That only makes the pain worse.  I should know."

"What do you know?" Neji demanded, angry veins standing out in his face.  "Have you ever had to just stand by and watch people get hurt knowing you couldn't do anything?"

"Neji..."

"Had your closest friend ever been raped because you were too weak to protect her?"

Naruto hung his head.  He had expected Neji to still be upset over his loss in the Chuunin exam finals and not over something of this magnitude.  "I'm sorry.  I guess I didn't know what I was talking about."

Neji sneered at him.  "What's the matter Naruto?  Don't you have a pep talk to give?  Aren't you going to tell me everything's going to be okay?"

"I don't know what to say.  I just know that I never want to be in your shoes and have to stand aside and watch Sakura-chan in pain."

"I'm not standing aside.  I'm going to kill the ones who hurt her."

"Neji..."

"I don't have time to waste waiting for the jounin to conduct their investigation.  They could attack someone else in that time."

Naruto formed another sentence.  "I'd be angry too if I was you, but I'd also want to spend as much time with her as I can, to make sure she knows that I care about her."

Neji glared at him.

"Why are you here anyway?  You're not helping anyone by moping around.  Don't you want to be by her side when she wakes up?" He scratched the back of his head.  "I hear girls like it when you're there for them."

"Are you trying to say she's not important to me?"

"No.  I'm saying revenge shouldn't be more important than the person you're getting it for."

"I've already asked you to go away.  I won't repeat myself."

Naruto didn't say anything more, he just shrugged and walked off.  The hardest thing about helping people was getting through to them when they didn't want the help you can tell they so obviously needed.  And Hyuuga Neji definitely didn't want anyone's help.

After he was sure Naruto had left, Neji continued deeper into the forest, to the spot where his team often practiced.  To his disappointment he was not alone.  Gai-sensei and Rock Lee were already there and judging from the lack of sweat on their bodies they hadn't been there very long.  Damn that Naruto.

Neji chose not to verbally acknowledge his sensei and teammate and attacked the sparring dummy strung up in the tree.  Naruto knew nothing of revenge, but he knew what strength was, a lesson Neji in all of his training had missed.  He wouldn't forget the true meaning of strength this time and he would prove to everyone his worth.

"Gai-sensei, Neji seems more intense than usual." Lee sweatdropped as the first dummy fell after a strong kick to the throat area, and Neji launched himself at the second one without even so much as a pause.

"Ah." Gai rested a hand on his protégé's shoulders.  "You should understand his motivation."

Hearts replaced Lee's eyes as he thought of his love.  "Sakura-san."

Gai smiled widely, a twinkle in his eye and the sunshine glinted off his pearly white teeth.  "There is nothing so beautiful as love in the spring of youth."

Neji didn't even slow down his movements.  "I'm not in love with her."

Gai and Lee crouched lower and began whispering loudly to each other.  "He's taking it pretty hard."

"I would too if I were in his shoes."

Gai straightened up and addressed Neji as well as Lee.  "Gentlemen, I have most excellent news.  This year's second Chuunin exam will be held in exactly one month and two weeks and with one exam already under our belts I am confident that if we train nonstop we will make Chuunin for sure." He smiled widely and held up two fingers in a V.

Neji kicked the dummy again and it crashed to the ground in front of him.  "How will we pass when one of our squad members is crippled and the other one is in a coma?"

"Lee will be well enough to compete by then."

"And TenTen?"

"That has been considered.  The doctors estimate that she'll be awake before this week is over."

"I didn't mean physically.  What if she's not okay emotionally?"

"Then we'll deal with it as a team." Lee assured Neji.

"That's right." Gai pulled a long black sash from his jacket pocket.  "In the time being I have a special training exercise for you Neji." He extended the cloth towards the boy.

Neji took it from his teacher and stared at it distastefully.  Gai-sensei's taste in clothes left much to be desired.  "What do you want me to do with this?"

"It's a blindfold." He continued at the boy's puzzled stare.  "Even though your techniques are strong, they revolve around the use of Byakugan just like Lee's revolved around his legs.  What this lesson is going to do is ensure that you're still a strong shinobi should you lose your eyes."

Neji understood the man's concern.  Lee had almost lost his future as a ninja, and he was trying to make sure the same thing didn't happen to him.  He lifted the sash to his eyes and tied it tightly around the back of his head.  "What now?"

"We won't do anything to strenuous on your first day.  I just want you to use all your senses but your sight to form a mental picture of your surroundings."

That wouldn't be too hard.  He'd come here many times to train and knew the area by heart.  He carefully stepped over a tree root and directly into the tree.

Gai laughed heartily.  "Not as easy as you thought?"

All his senses...He could hear nothing but birds and the occasionally passing breeze, but that was no surprise.  One of the first lessons you learned in the ninja academy was to be silent.  Making a picture by touching or tasting everything would be stupid and time consuming.  His nose wasn't nearly powerful enough to pick up anything the average ninja couldn't, so that eliminated that.  The slow wind blew by again, picking up a few leaves and swirling his long hair around his face, giving Neji an idea.  The wind was coming from behind him, but was particularly weak off to his right.  So that meant something had to be blocking it, either a tree or a person.  He picked up a rock and flung it in that direction.  There was the sound of contact, but no cry of pain, so that ruled out the human being theory.

While he couldn't hear Gai or Rock Lee breathing he could almost hear the faint whistling of the wind through the trees, helping him to locate all of them.  The picture was becoming clearer, but he still couldn't get accurate readings on Gai or Lee without..."Byakugan!" He felt the veins ripple and stretch across his face.  Suddenly, everything was perfectly clear, Lee was standing only a few yards in front of him and Gai was...where was Gai?

A large hand crashed into his face sending him reeling onto the ground.  "I told you not to use your eyes.  The punishment for disobedience is three hundred laps around the village."

Neji groaned and pulled off the blindfold.  No matter how ridiculous the punishment seemed, once Gai made up his mind there was no changing it.  Maybe if he was lucky his legs would give out around lap one hundred and he'd be excused from the remaining ones.  Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A week had passed since he and Gai started the Special Surprise Chuunin Exam Two Training Regimen and Neji's legs protested every ounce of weight they were forced to carry. Gai's prediction had come true though, and TenTen woke up from her coma four days prior and was sent home the very next morning. He had meant to visit her before today, but Gai kept dragging him off at odd hours to train. Today was different though. Today Gai had promised that he'd have the day off and that he'd work on whipping Rock Lee into shape.

He'd decided to swing by just after sunrise, as he knew TenTen was an early riser and that would avoid unwanted conversations with her elder brother Kotetsu.

Unfortunately, that plan went to hell when Kotetsu greeted him at the door. "You're in luck. She just woke up." He opened the door wider to allow the younger boy inside and closed it behind him. "Go ahead. It's the third room on the left."

Neji nodded in appreciation and began the trek to her room. Gai-sensei had commented yesterday that she was in good spirits for someone who'd gone through what she had, whatever that meant. He rapped on her bedroom door.

"Go away Kotetsu! I don't want to talk to you, I wanna see Mom!"

"It's Neji."

There was a long pause and he had already turned to leave when he heard the faint reply. "Come in."

He pushed the door open slowly and stumbled into what was easily the darkest room in the house. Thick, heavy drapes hung over the windows, blocking all light from entering. "So?" Neji strained to make out the figure on her bed. "How are you?"

"Fine."

Something had been nagging him ever since he got the news. "TenTen, are you…?"

"No." She said quickly. "I'm not pregnant."

"Oh." Time to change the subject. "Gai-sensei signed us up for the Chuunin exam. I told him it was a stupid idea since you're probably not up for it."

"I'll enter the exam. There's nothing for you to worry about. You'll make Chuunin and then leave us behind for good."

"TenTen…"

"We're holding you back, especially me. I'm not good enough to compete with Lee and not strong enough to protect myself. So I'll do this last thing for you and then retire as a ninja."

"What about your dreams?"

"Childish fantasies that don't exist in my world anymore. I'll find my calling some place else."

"So did you see the guys who did this to you?"

"I remember seeing them, but for some reason I can't make out their faces." She rested her chin on her knees. "Despite that, I have this weird feeling, like a hidden part of me knows their faces and I think I'd recognize them if I see them."

"And then?"

"I'll kill them of course."

That wasn't very logical, and he told her. "How will you kill them if you couldn't stop them from hurting you in the first place?" It was a hard question, and he at least expected her to be baffled for a few minutes, but instead she lifted her face and stared directly at him.

"You'll be with me this time."

Kotetsu walked in the room on that note. "I hate to interrupt you two, but it's time for breakfast." He opened the drapes to let the sunlight in and succeeded in blinding the teens. "Neji, you can hang out here until she finishes eating and then come back in." He placed a breakfast platter over the girl's knees and then ushered her teammates out of the room.

Neji stood in the hallway alone. What did Kotetsu expect him to do while he waited? The Hagane home was small and well-decorated, but it lacked any evidence of the parents he'd briefly met when they graduated from the academy.

Her room door opened and Kotetsu slipped out. "How long have you and TenTen been living alone together and are you even her brother?" He slipped his arm around the man's neck and pressed his kunai against it.

Kotetsu sighed. The boy was more perceptive than he'd first thought. "Put the kunai away Neji. I'm not holding her here against her will."

Neji kept the blade against the older man's neck and continued to speak calmly. "What did you do with her parents?"

"Our parents are ANBU squad members and they were sent away over a year ago." He watched the boy withdraw appreciatively. "Are you satisfied?"

"No. Why didn't TenTen ever mention you?"

"My relationship with my sister is a bit strained. There's a lot of years between us and I haven't lived at home for seven years. The truth is, we're not really related. My parents adopted her thirteen years ago from a village that had been burnt nearly to the ground. They felt sorry for her and took her in. It wasn't until she was almost two that we learned she was the one responsible for the fire."

"How did she destroy a village as a baby?"

"Like you TenTen possess a rare bloodline limit. Unlike you, hers is capable of mass destruction if released."

"Why haven't I seen her do it before?"

"She has no idea how to do it, and my parents don't want her to ever learn. In fact, it'll be best for everyone if her accursed clan dies out with her." Kotetsu looked in on his adopted sister. "Don't get me wrong, I love her, but it's hard to love someone you fear."

"Even if she doesn't know about it, some form of the Bloodline Limit would come out in battle."

Kotetsu shook his head. "There's a special seal to repress the powers of Konoha's fire clan. To protect the clan from assassins it's only known to the Elders."

"There is no Fire Clan in Konoha."

"Not anymore. It can't be considered much of a clan when there's only one survivor. One hundred years ago after a series of unexplainable deaths whittled their numbers down to twenty, the clan left Konoha and settled in other villages. Before she was born her father became the head of their village, up until they learned he possessed what was the rarest of Bloodline limits. By then only his family and the Elder who lived with them were left of the once mighty clan. As you may have expected, there was an angry mob outside his house that night, demanding his life and that of his wife and two children. He refused and became locked in a vicious battle against the village's men. Of course, he was a powerful shinobi as was the Elder and was doing an excellent job of holding the men back. He was buying time for his wife to pack up their children and make a run for it, but unfortunately his wife went into labor from all the stress."

_A little brown-haired boy streaked out of the house towards a gang of fighting men. He easily located his father inside the mob and ran to his side. "Papa!"_

_The man scooped the young boy up into his arms to shield him from danger. "What are you doing outside the house Kojiro?"_

_"Mama fell down and she won't get up."_

_"Where's your sister?"_

_"She's with Mama."_

_"Hideo-sama, will you be able to hold them off on your own?"_

_The older man brandished his katana. "Hai"_

_"Arigato." Kojiro's father ran uphill towards his home. He had hoped by now that his children and wife would've fled this God-forsaken village, but it appeared luck nor good fortune was on his side. He shoved the shoji door aside to meet his six-year-old daughter kneeling at his wife's side._

_"Shinsuke." The delirious woman grasped his hand._

_"What's wrong?" He questioned. "Is it the baby?" The couple was expecting their third child, another daughter in two months._

_His wife nodded. "She's coming now."_

_He had to make a decision quickly. His wife was in no condition to run, so his previous plan had to be thrown by the wayside. "I'm going back out."_

_"You'll be killed."_

_"Maybe, but Hideo-sama and I will make sure you and the children survive." The Bloodline Limit he and his family possessed was the reason they were in this mess, so it had to be what got them out of it. He joined the Elder at the foot of the hill. "My wife's in labor. We have no other choice." Hideo nodded and did his seals in sync with Hiei's. "__Phoenix__ Fire no Jutsu!" A ball of fire exploded from each man's chest, unfurling themselves to form small birds of flame. The fiery creatures flew into each other, forming a much larger bird. The __Phoenix__ squawked majestically and flew into the mob, setting each man on fire and then headed towards the village._

"By the time my parents arrived in the village everything was gone. All that was left of Shinsuke's family was the newborn baby sleeping in the charred remains of her home."

"How can you blame that on her?"

"The only way the phoenix can pass on to a newborn is to draw chakra from living clan members. In her case it drew too much and killed all of them, making her the only heir."

"Just how strong is she?" Neji's eyes didn't betray whatever emotion he was feeling.

"You know how strong she is. She's no stronger than she ever was, the phoenix's powers have been repressed every morning for eleven years."

"Because of that she's barely strong enough to protect herself."

"At least this way she can't hurt anyone."

"You're sacrificing one for the sake of many. That's the same mistake they made with Naruto and Gaara. You know that result."

"Be friends with my sister all you want, but don't get involved. I won't allow her clan to continue." With that warning Kotetsu retreated into the deeper regions of the house.

Neji reentered the room, partly intrigued by Kotetsu's revelation and partly angered by his aloofness concerning TenTen's safety. He stood there in silence as starting conversations was still difficult for him as he preferred to be left alone and she picked up on that.

She initiated the conversation. "What did my brother say to you?"

"Nothing important."

"The two of you were talking for a long time for it to be nothing."

"He was talking. I was ignoring him." Neji hoped she didn't pick up on his outright lie. He had definitely been paying attention. Although she didn't know it yet, TenTen had the strength he needed to once again be recognized. "You want to go outside?"

The girl shook her head negatively. "I'm not ready for that yet."

Neji shoved his hands into his pockets and his fingers struck a hard square object. It was the deck of cards his mother had given him for when he ran out of words. He pulled it out to show her. "You know any good card games?"


	4. Chapter 4

The fourth chapter, all characters used within are not mine.  In this chapter, TenTen finds out the secret.

**Chapter Four**

Occasional mishaps aside, Neji settled into a comfortable routine.  He would visit TenTen early in the morning and then would go off to train with Gai and Lee for the rest of the day.  She was slowly becoming more responsive, yet she was still unwilling to go more than five feet from her home which frustrated Neji to no end.  How was she supposed to take the Chuunin exam if she was afraid to leave her property?

For the most part he had little or no contact with Kotetsu, except for the rare moments when he was awake before TenTen.  Unfortunately, this happened to be one of those mornings.

"From what I hear you've been over a lot lately." Kotetsu was not pleased.

"It's none of your business." Neji brushed past the man as he entered the house.

"You've been doing a lot for my sister, spending time with her and helping her get over her fears."

"Your point?"

"Watch yourself Neji.  You're treading on dangerous ground."

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in her that way.  All I care about is her Bloodline Limit and how it can help me get stronger."

"Make sure your feelings don't change." Kotetsu left the house.

TenTen entered the room right after her brother exited.  "You don't have to stay with me today Neji.  I'm feeling ill and I'm afraid I may be contagious."

Irritation flickered over the boy's features.  She was terrible at making excuses for not progressing, but if she wanted to be alone he'd let her be.  "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye." TenTen watched the boy leave her home and then sprang into action.  There was something weird going on that both her brother and friend knew about, but it was a secret to her.  What was Neji talking about when he said she had a Bloodline limit?  The Haganes were fairly normal people, most of the family were shinobis, but there was nothing genius about them or her.  Besides, if she had a Bloodline limit she would've had a much better showing at the last Chuunin exam and she would've been able to protect herself.

Her brother had left early this morning and the house was still in disarray from the night before.  He had invited over a few friends, Izumo included, and they'd gambled, drunk and ate the night away.  She could never understand how men considered that a good time.  Right now Kotetsu was probably on his way to the hospital to get medicine for his hangover.

It was times like this when she missed her mother the most, when she was alone and their tiny house seemed bigger and lonelier than she ever thought possible.  Her mother had always been very understanding and TenTen had felt as if she could tell the older woman anything.  However, their bond had been ruptured the day after she was assigned to Gai's team, the day the 3rd Hokage had requested they come out of retirement and sent them off to God knows where.

Kotetsu had taken on the role of single parent then, moving back into their parents' home to watch over her.  He was okay as a guardian, but he had way too many rules.  He had insisted from Day One that she never go into her parents' bedroom without him, no matter how urgent her need was.

That had to be it.  Kotetsu's secret had to be hidden in that room and she'd finally understand the dirty looks her brother and friend always gave each other.  She found herself standing in front of the door in question and tried the doorknob.  Locked.  She sucked her teeth and drew a kunai.  Whatever was buried in this room had to be worth the scolding she'd get when Kotetsu came home and saw the lock broken.  "Oh well." She lifted the kunai above her head and brought it down as hard as she could on the doorknob.  The handle came off cleanly and made a soft thunk when it hit the floor.  She fiddled around for a moment with the actual lock and the door swung inward.

Her parents' room was spotless, severely lacking even a speck of dust anywhere and everything was neatly in its place.  Well, at least whatever it was she was looking for wouldn't be hard to find.  She ducked and glanced under the bed.  There was nothing under there, not even a shoe.  She lifted the mattress and felt around underneath it.  Nothing.

She scowled.  Where could it be?  She turned her eyes to the bookshelf.  Nothing looked out of place or like it had been moved recently.  The only other piece of furniture in the room was a small two foot high chest of drawers.  TenTen opened both drawers at once and was disappointed to only find her old baby clothes.  She was about to get up and look through the closet when something in the back of her mind told her to stick her hand under the clothes.  She complied and her hand struck a familiar cylindrical object.  She tightened her fingers around it and pulled the scroll out.  "Hello." She paused before opening it, if her parents were in on the secret as well then there might be a trap inside the scroll, in case an unwanted intruder got his hands on it.

She examined the scroll carefully.  The seal had been broken recently, that much she could tell, so whatever trap had been laid there had probably already been activated so it was likely safe to open it.  TenTen sighed deeply, mentally preparing herself.  "It's now or never." She muttered to herself, prying it open with her fingers.

Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.  Written on the scroll was a copy of the report her parents logged on the last mission they made prior to their retirement thirteen years ago.

It told of how they had been called to a village as a cleanup crew after a fire had claimed the lives of most of the townspeople.  Over the three week period they'd helped to rebuild homes and searched for survivors.  On their first day there they'd found a three-day-old baby girl in the rubble of the home of the village leader.  No one dared to lay claim to the girl so her parents had taken her home along with some scrolls that told the story of one of Konoha's oldest clans.  It was in perusing those scrolls that they learned the girl was the last living human being to posses the Burning Soul Phoenix Technique, the deadly Bloodline Limit that had decimated her village and killed her family.  Also recorded in the scrolls was detailed information on the clan's techniques that they listed there in case their daughter or two other children ever became shinobi.  Written and preserved in the scrolls was a four-handed seal that the Elders used on the children entrusted to their care to prevent unnecessary deaths.

TenTen's eyes roamed over the yellowed piece of paper, memorizing the three jutsus.  She knew the fourth technique by heart, the seal that her parents had masqueraded as a ritual to ward off evil spirits.  Anger boiled within her and shot to the surface as she flung the scroll as far away from her as possible.  Her parents had ordered that Kotetsu give her the scroll the day they left, but he had chosen instead to keep her power a secret from her and she had paid the ultimate price for his cowardly decision.  Her body had been violated by perverted idiots and her dreams were now haunted by images of the devastating event happening over and over.

Overwhelmed by the magnitude of her new knowledge, angered by Kotetsu and Neji, and overcome with longing for her mother's comforting embrace, TenTen fell to her knees and began to cry.

~~~

Kotetsu found her in that same position two hours later, sitting on the floor in the middle of their parents' bedroom, her head on her knees and sobbing silently.  He didn't have to ask to find the root cause of his sister's sadness.  "I told you not to come here.  I knew you wouldn't be able to handle what you'd find."

The girl didn't respond, but her cries seemed to slow down.

Kotetsu reached out and touched her shoulder.  "TenTen, everything's going to be okay as long as you promise never to use the limit."

"I hate you." The girl whispered.

"What?"

She jumped to her feet, bowling her brother over in the process.  "I said I hate you!  How could you hide something like this from me?  You've treated me like I was a danger to society."

"You are." Kotetsu said softly.  "No matter how pure of heart or how powerful a ninja you are, the phoenix can never be controlled, only contained.  So until the day you die you'll continue to be a danger to all of us."

"Why did you tell Neji?  He doesn't need to know something like this."

"If he's going to spend so much time with you then he ought to have the knowledge that could save his life." He sighed and stood to his feet.  "I don't know why you even waste your time liking that kid.  He only cares about your limit and how he can get his hands on it."

"That's my problem Kotetsu.  You should worry about yourself."

"Are you going to kill me TenTen?" Kotetsu looked amused.  

"No." She replied.  "Even if we're not flesh and blood we're still family and I still love you as my brother.  Because of that I can't bring myself to kill you.  However, the next time you betray me, TenTen may not be in control." She smiled at him and left the room.

Kotetsu scratched his head.  "Shit." He walked out of the room and picked up the doorknob from the floor.  "This won't end well." He followed his sister out the front door.  "I better catch up to her before she does something we'll both regret."


	5. Chapter 5

Ahh…I finally get the title involved.  That feels good.  

**Chapter Five**

Gai-sensei hadn't shown up yet for his training session, but Neji was making good use of his free time.  He'd decided to spar with the fighting dummies blindfolded and so far had managed to knock a few of them down.  With each passing day he felt himself grow stronger and he yearned for the four weeks to quickly pass so he could test his skills by defeating Uzumaki Naruto and then Uchiha Sasuke.  Every time Gai saw him practicing he commented on how much Neji had grown as a ninja since he saw him last.  Most of the time he never took the man's compliments seriously as Gai-sensei was prone to using many idle words, but it did feel good to have someone acknowledge his hard work.

He loosened the black blindfold and let it fall unhindered around his neck.  His breath came in ragged gulps as his body tried hard to replace the oxygen it had lost.

"There you are Neji." A voice in the trees drew his attention to TenTen standing on a branch.  "I've been looking all over for you."

"Shouldn't you be in your bed hiding under the covers?"

"Nice try Neji.  I know you don't think I'm pathetic anymore." She jumped down from the tree and landed right in front of him.  "I also know what it is you want from me."

Neji didn't look the least bit uncomfortable.  "You've come to make this easier then?"

"A Bloodline Limit can only be passed on to one's children.  You of all people should know that."

"Your people were confused.  You don't have a limit, you're just possessed, and anyone can be possessed." He replied.  "That's why I'm interested in it."

The girl clenched her fist.  "I can make you cursed just like me.  I can make you the object of hatred, ridicule and scorn."

"You can also give me power." Neji continued to stare TenTen down, matching angry glare for angry glare.

"I can if I want to."

Neji turned his back on her.  She was trying to make him beg.

"Why didn't you tell me something?" TenTen's voice cracked.  "Anything?  Didn't you think I deserved to know?"

"It wasn't my place to say anything."

"You're just as bad as Kotetsu."

He faced her again.  "I'm not looking for your approval TenTen."

That shut her up.

"Are you finished?  I have to get back to training so I can become a Chuunin."

TenTen was incensed.  The past week and a half had meant nothing to him.  The caring, warm, friendly person he was in her home was a front, an act that he put on just to get closer to her.  "You want my power?" She gripped his forearm.  "You got it."

Neji felt the searing heat burning through his skin one second before he saw TenTen's hand burst into flames.

The fire engulfed her entire body and then spread quickly onto Neji.  He fought off the drowsy feeling that threatened to consume him and watched with morbid fascination as the flames ate every fiber of his jacket and shirt, but miraculously left his bare chest unblemished.

TenTen's eyes rolled up into her head and she fell forward into Neji's open arms.  Because she was no longer controlling it the flames were extinguished as abruptly as they were created.

Neji considered flinging the girl aside and going on his way, but his legs suddenly decided that they didn't want to support his weight and hers and he fell to the ground, one hand awkwardly wrapped around her waist.  He continued to try and fight off the tidal wave of unconsciousness that threatened to wash over him and drown him in its black depths, but even he could tell it was a losing battle.  He leaned back and lay flat on the ground, arranging the girl's limp body next to him.  Perhaps succumbing to sleep wouldn't be such a bad idea, since he hadn't paused for sleep since TenTen had been assaulted.  Yeah, maybe sleep was good.  Neji closed his eyelids slowly, plunging the world around him into darkness.

~~~

"Our team came across them in the middle of the forest with hardly a shred of clothing between them.  The doctor says that both of them were passed out as a result of exhaustion."

"Don't forget the burn marks all over their bodies." Izumo added.

"How much evidence do you need before you move in on them?" Kotetsu questioned.  "Will you stand by and wait until all of Konoha goes up in flames?"

"Whether or not these children mean us any harm remains to be seen." The third participant in the conversation, a woman, walked the halls with the two male Chuunin.  "Until then, this hospital will treat them with the respect we'd give any other patient."

"But Tsunade-sama, this boy isn't the most mentally stable kid there ever was." Kotetsu protested.  "Maybe TenTen won't start anything, but Neji definitely will."

"You want me to refuse treatment to two of the brightest young genin Konoha has on what grounds?  That you suspect they might be a danger to us down the road?" Tsunade stopped outside a hospital room.  "They are still mere children and we have no idea what they'll grow up to become.  They may be legendary jounin and the mere mention of their names will send pride coursing through the veins of every Konoha resident."

"Or they may be treacherous villains like Orochimaru and Itachi." Izumo pointed out.

"But we don't know that for sure, and until we do these two will be treated as any other genin, not as someone to be feared.  Am I making myself clear?"

The two Chuunin bowed to her.  "Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"Until this village is threatened by them I don't want to hear anymore on the subject." Confident with her decision, Tsunade smiled at the two younger ninjas and entered the hospital room.

The small room was mostly bare and contained little furniture other than a pair of twin beds.  The beds themselves weren't much to look at.  In fact, if both beds weren't currently occupied they'd probably be thrown onto a trash heap and burned.

"Sorry about the accommodations Neji-kun." Tsunade apologized to the wide-awake boy.  "It was the only room available."

"What was so important that the Hokage herself decided to come down and see me?"

"It almost seems like too much of a coincidence that all three of the members of your squad are constantly checking in and out of the hospital."

"We're still alive aren't we?"

"You're damaged goods Neji.  I strongly recommend that you and TenTen meet with an advisor to get you over this event.  Obviously you've been internalizing all of your feelings and that has led to self-destructive behavior."

"You know nothing."

Tsunade sighed.  "Neji, you're free to go once your mother arrives, and tell TenTen when she wakes up her brother wants her to stay overnight."

Neji swung his legs over the side of the bed.  "What about the investigation?"

"Which one?"

"Into what happened to her." Neji glanced over at the comatose girl.

"I have the best men working on it.  They'll find the perpetrators soon enough." Tsunade smiled knowingly at the concerned look the boy gave his teammate.  "For a child as bitter as you are you seem to care a lot about her."

"I need her to teach me her jutsus and to keep me eligible for the chuunin exam."

"Right." Even if the boy didn't have much in the way of personality, his focus was impressive.  "You'll be one of the greatest ninja this village has ever known as long as you keep to a path free of distractions." On that note Tsunade left the boy to ponder what she had just said.

Izumo and Kotetsu were still standing guard by the door where she'd left them.  "How are they doing?" Kotetsu questioned.

"The boy is awake but your sister is still asleep."

"What did you think?" Izumo looked in on Neji who was now standing over TenTen's bed.

"It's amazing that most of the burns you and the hospital staff reported have vanished from their bodies.  They seem to have extraordinary healing capabilities."

"Are they still wounded?"

"TenTen isn't, she just seems to be exhausted."

"And Neji?"

"He has a very interesting burn on his lower forearm.  It matches one on your sister's back and if examined in a mirror I'm sure it is the symbol for fire." She smiled at Kotetsu's stunned expression.  "You recognize the significance?"

"It's the mark that identifies her as a member of the Fire clan, but I don't understand.  Why would she invite him into her clan?  That's usually only reserved for people entering through marriage."

"You're jumping to conclusions Kotetsu.  Neither she nor Neji are interested in getting married or having children at their age." Tsunade began walking towards the exit, Izumo and Kotetsu following at her heels.  "The best thing you can do for her is be her older brother and start trusting her to be herself."


	6. Chapter 6

There's no Neji or TenTen in this chapter, but it does advance the story.  As always, Naruto is not mine.

****

**Chapter Six**

For Ino, today had been unusually stressful.  Asuma-sensei had her and Chouji out training all day with some new kid who'd be reassigned to their squad in preparation for the Chuunin exam.  She took an immediate dislike to the boy and hadn't even bothered to learn his name.  She knew one thing right off the bat though, he was no Shikamaru.  He was talented and seemed like a hard worker, but his enthusiasm and opposition to her authority made her miss Shikamaru all the more.

She got cross instantly when she thought of that.  "Why would I miss that lazy good-for-nothing baka who's probably at home sleeping while I'm busting my but training all day?"

A few passerbys looked at her strangely, but she continued to carry on her conversation with herself, completely oblivious to their stares.

"He is a lot smarter than the new kid although he likes to pretend that he isn't.  Why did they split us up in the first place?"

Why were Ino's thoughts so Shikamaru-centric?  Well, it so happened that she was on her way to see him.

Ino clenched her fist.  "If he makes just one rude comment about how I look I swear I'll kill him."

Luckily for Shikamaru he was out running an errand for his mother and he spared Ino the trouble of looking for him.  She spotted him across the street and waved.  "Shikamaru!"

The boy groaned.  He had been looking forward to a relaxing evening.  Sighing, he crossed the street to where she was standing.  "Hi Ino." He said half-heartedly.

"Hi Ino?" She echoed.  "Don't you think you could be a little more enthusiastic?  I mean, we haven't seen each other in weeks."

"It hasn't been that long."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She glowered at the boy.

"Nothing." He avoided her penetrating stare.

She slipped her hand into his.  "We should talk."

"Now?" He tried not to think of how soft her hand felt in his.

"Yes now."

Shikamaru held up the bag of vegetables he was holding in his other hand.  "But my Mom needs these for dinner."

"It'll just be for a little while, I promise.  Please?"

Arguing with Ino was so troublesome.  Most of the time it was best to let her have her own way.  And so he did.  He allowed himself to be dragged through the streets by the bossy blonde.

The pain finally stopped moving outside a small restaurant with outdoor seating.  Ino flopped down in one of the chairs and motioned for him to do the same.  

As soon as he made the mistake of sitting down Ino began to let out all of her pent-up feelings.

"Asuma-sensei is as aggravating as always, especially when we go on missions.  If he isn't going to help us out then why is he even there?"

Shikamaru signaled the waiter to bring them some water.  He might as well get comfortable.

"…And Chouji's so disagreeable when you're not there to put him in his place.  All he does is eat and he hardly even tries anymore.  It's like he doesn't even care.  I hardly know this new guy, but I'm positive I hate him.  It's just not fair that they broke up Ino Shika Chou.  Why did you have to make Chuunin without us?"

"It's not like I wanted to be a chuunin." He complained.

"And I never get to see Sasuke-kun anymore.  How am I supposed to beat Sakura for his love if we never even see each other?"

Shikamaru groaned.  "Why are you talking about him?"

Ino suddenly stopped talking.  "What?"

"You inconvenienced me by bringing me all the way out here and you're going to talk about some other guy."

"You never said anything before."

"Before I had to see you every day."

"You don't like seeing me every day?" Ino looked like she was almost on the verge of tears.

Shikamaru scratched his head.  Why was she doing this to him?  "I guess…I miss you sometimes…even when I'm going to sleep.  But it hasn't been that long and we don't have to be strangers.  I mean…our dads know each other…and we don't live that far apart, so…yeah."

"Really?" 

"Yeah."

Ino jumped up from his chair and hugged him around the shoulders.  "Just make sure you don't get sent away for years and years, otherwise I'll hunt you down and kill you."

"I won't forget that."

At that moment three young men came and sat two tables to their left.  Shikamaru would've completely ignored their conversation if one of them hadn't complimented him on his cute girlfriend.

Ino had gotten angry at the older genin's lewd comment and probably would've fought with them had he not been restraining her.

Ino was ranting again, but he wasn't paying attention to her, instead he was trying to eavesdrop on the older genin inconspicuously.

"I just think we should really push our sensei to get us a mission out of Konoha.  It's just not safe to be here right now.  The jounin are all over the place and I hear that Neji kid is out for blood."

The second boy scoffed at the first.  "Quit being so paranoid.  No one knows what happened but us.  Forget the jounin.  We made sure there wouldn't be a shred of evidence for them to find."

The third boy spoke up.  "We had our fun and it can't be traced back to us.  They're going to give up on the investigation soon."

The second boy drummed his fingers on the table.  "Besides, don't forget that Neji is the reason we did this in the first place.  You know how stupid we looked?  Three big seventeen-year-olds getting their scroll of Heaven stolen by a single thirteen-year-old punk." He kicked the chair his hesitant friend was sitting on to emphasize his point.  "And that stupid girl just stood in the tree the whole time, smirking at us.  Felt damn good to wipe that smirk off her lips."

"What if we get caught?"

"That's not possible." The second boy said.  "The only way we can get caught is if one of us squeals.  And whoever's dumb enough to do that won't ever make the same mistake."

Shikamaru swiveled slightly in his seat to get a better look at the boys.  The three of them were dressed identically in black pants and shirts, and wore masks and bandages to cover every patch of skin on their bodies.  No wonder the jounin were having a hell of a time finding them.  Even if TenTen had seen them she'd have nothing to identify these boys by.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ino questioned.

"Shh." He held a finger over his lips.

"What's so interesting about them?"

"I think those are the guys that raped TenTen."

Ino's cerulean eyes widened.  "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to go home and help my Mom make dinner." Shikamaru stood up from the table.  "I should walk you home.  It's already starting to get dark."

Ino jumped up and hissed at him.  "You're not going to stand up to them?"

"I'm not looking for a fight Ino.  I'll tell Dad about it when I get home and maybe he can do something."

"I can't believe you just let them hit on me and aren't going to do anything."

Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pockets and began shuffling towards Ino's home.  "Why should I care?  It's not like I'm your boyfriend or anything."

Ino huffed.  "With that attitude, I can see why no girl would go out with you.  I bet Sasuke-kun would never…" She trailed off at her friends death glare.  "I'm sorry for bringing him up.  I guess I forgot."

He rolled his eyes and kept walking.  He knew for a fact that he'd never figure out girls, but he wasn't interested in learning about all girls…just Ino.  There were so many things about her he didn't get, like why she was so loyal to Sasuke.  And even though she was so infatuated with him she never failed to rub in Sakura's face the fact that he was the only one of them to make Chuunin.  Then there were the more aggravating habits of hers, like why she insisted on filling every silence with mindless chatter.  Even now she was prattling on about something he was sure he wasn't interested in.

"And that Naruto, I swear one of these days I'm going to choke him to death."

Okay, that was sort of interesting.  Another thing he noticed was that when she was nervous she talked way too much.  Then again, when things were normal she talked too much for his liking.  Maybe she talked too much to make up for his lack of interest in talking.  Who knew?  Of course, it didn't change the fact that he was more than intrigued by her and loved the sound of her voice.

"Shikamaru?" She reached behind her and her fingers brushed against his.  "Are you listening?"

"Yeah.  You were complaining about squad seven."

She groaned.  "You weren't listening at all."

"Sorry." He took a risk and intertwined her fingers with his.

She stopped walking and leaned into his chest.  "Are you scared too?"

He avoided answering her question.  "You're almost home Ino."

"Oh." She resumed walking, dragging him behind her.

He sighed.  "I'll never let anyone hurt you.  I swear." He let go of her hand in front of her door.  "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She kissed him on his cheek and disappeared behind her front door.

He smiled and began walking to his house.  He would tell his father everything he saw and heard in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

Neji and TenTen make their return in this chapter, as does Gai, Lee, and those three boys who everyone seems to want to kill

**Chapter Seven**

For the first time in over two weeks TenTen was well enough to practice with the boys.  Gai and Lee were ecstatic over the prospect of seeing their team as a whole for the first time in months.  Neji, on the other hand was indifferent.  He couldn't care less about the team, but he was weary of being together, since he and TenTen hadn't spoken since they'd both wound up in the hospital a few days ago.

Neji was not looking forward to being reunited with his teammates and was taking the longest possible route to their usual meeting place.  He was surprised instead to find an older ninja in place of Gai and the other two.  "Who the hell are you?"

The blonde boy shook his head.  "That's not important.  What's important is that I know who raped your friend."

"Keep talking."

The boy looked around twice.  "I don't have that much time, but if you and the girl meet me here at six I'll give them to you."

Neji was not convinced.  "What's in it for you?"

"The joy of seeing justice served." The boy took off and TenTen emerged from behind a tree.

"Did you recognize him?"

"His voice sounded familiar."

"Are you coming with me?"

"Yes." She replied firmly.  Neji wouldn't scare her into not going.

"Don't get in my way."

"I won't." She met his glare with a fierce one of her own.  She was getting better at portraying her anger through her eyes alone, though Neji was still the grandmaster.

"Good."

The ground in front of them exploded and when the dust cleared Gai was standing in front of them with Lee just off to his right.  "Greetings lady and gentlemen.  It truly is a wonderful feeling to see the three of you together for the first time since the last Chuunin exam." He flexed his biceps in front of the three kids.  "And I am confident that a month is enough time for us to once again be the top genin team."

Neji crossed his arms over his chest.  "Don't fool yourself sensei.  We're not ready and you know we won't be."

Lee jumped to his idol's defense, shaking his fist in the boy's face.  "How dare you doubt Gai-sensei?  If he says we're ready, then we're ready."

His rival scoffed at him.  "Don't be naïve.  The four of us know deep down that we don't have a snowball's chance in hell.  Only one genin passed last time, so all the surviving competitors from last exam will be back, including the Sand genin." He glared at Lee and TenTen.  "Or have you two forgotten what happened to you the last time you fought them?"

"It's been five months." Lee countered.  "We've gotten better."

"And so have they.  Only they weren't injured all five months."

TenTen grabbed Neji's wrist and jerked him towards her.  "What the hell is wrong with you?  How could you say such horrible things to Lee?"

"They're true."

Gai rested a hand on Neji's shoulders.  "Just because they're true doesn't give you the right to be cruel.  We've all been through a lot the past five months and it's a miracle that we're even able to compete."

"What's the point of competing if we're only going to lose?"

"Have you given up Neji?" Lee questioned.  "Are you too chicken to go on?  You try to say we're weak, but the truth is, you're more scared than any of us."

"Shut up!" Neji charged his teammate, but the boy disappeared just before he could grab him around the neck.

Lee materialized behind him and gripped him in a chokehold.  "Did I strike a chord Neji-**kun**?"

Neji growled and spun out of the hold, thrusting Lee several feet away.

Gai jumped in between the two combatants.  "There's no need for fighting amongst ourselves so close to the Chuunin exam."

"Gai-sensei?"

He turned in TenTen's direction.  "Yes?"

"Please let them fight.  Lee wants the chance to beat Neji more than anything."

"They can save it for the exam."

Lee turned puppy dog eyes on his teacher.  "Please sensei?"

He sighed.  "Very well then." Gai leapt out of the way.  "Just try not to injure each other."

Lee smiled widely.  He'd been waiting for the chance to defeat Neji ever since they met.  "Ready Neji-**kun**?"

Neji growled at him and waited for the boy to start the fight.

Lee had studied Neji's techniques from the very beginning and knew firsthand how debilitating his fighting style could be.  It would be hard for him to avoid close contact with Neji as that was how he took the offensive.  "Let's go!" He charged and watched as Neji ran towards him as well.  He slid onto the ground, locked onto one of Neji's ankles with both feet and threw the boy onto the ground.  Lee backflipped and several paces away and taunted the other boy.  "Are you hurt Neji-**kun**?"

The long-haired boy did not respond.  He had no problem with letting Lee think he was winning until he figured out how to use his new powers.

"I'm impressed that Lee actually managed to hit Neji." TenTen remarked.

Gai folded his arms across his chest.  "Lee has trained extremely hard to overcome his injuries, but I still don't think he's quite up to Neji's level."

"Konoha Whirlwind." Lee aimed the kick directly at Neji's face, but the white-eyed boy threw up a fist to block his attack just in time to save himself from a direct hit.  Lee smirked.  "Good to see you're not completely out of it."

For some reason TenTen was growing increasingly uncomfortable.  Her vision was spinning and she had a strange tightness in her chest that was preventing her from breathing freely.  She glanced over at Neji to see if he was experiencing the same discomfort.

The boy didn't appear to be having any breathing difficulty, but she did notice the fire dancing in his eyes.  However, what scared her was that these flames weren't ones of anger, pride or passion, what she was seeing was real fire, capable of causing serious damage.  "Lee!  Get down now!"

Without asking any questions the green-clad boy dropped flat onto the ground as a wave of fire rolled over his head.

Gai grabbed Neji's hands and pinned them behind his back.  "This fight has been postponed.  Are you okay Lee?"

He got up and dusted off his green shirt and pants.  "Yes sir." He looked at Neji with wonder in his big eyes.  "How did you do that?"

Neji glanced at TenTen briefly.  "I'm not sure."

The tightness in her chest subsided and she was able to breathe easier.

"When did you learn that technique?" Lee looked dejected.  Even without him using Byakugan once, he was still far from his rival's level.

Neji didn't take his eyes off TenTen.  "Just a few days ago."

"Once again you have developed an amazing technique on your own.  Congratulations Neji." Gai released the boy and smiled warmly at him.  "You two boys have given me even more confidence in our chances."

"See." Lee held his index and middle fingers up in a V.  "We can make Chuunin easily.  It'll just take hard work."

"I think you've had enough exercise for the morning.  Meet me at sundown for some top secret training."

At the man's words Neji left the three of them behind.  Several questions burning in the back of her mind, TenTen chased after the younger boy and caught up to him a few meters later.  "Were you waiting for me?"

"I could hear you coming."

"And I knew you would wait."

"Feh."

"How did you learn to use the phoenix's powers so quickly, and why did I know in advance when you were going to attack?"

He turned his back on her.  "Don't ask questions you already know the answers to."

Realization dawned on her.  "If we're close enough to each other the phoenix lets me see into your mind."

"You're smarter than I thought."

"Why did you show Gai and Lee?  You know Kotetsu is looking for any chance he can find to get rid of us?"

"That's not my concern."

"Then what it is your concern?"

"Becoming stronger than the others.  Nothing else."

"I see." TenTen had no problem reading his thoughts.  He really didn't think about anything other than regaining his lost respect.

Neji could tell the girl was probing his mind.  She was so predictable when it came to her ridiculous overprotectiveness.  He couldn't understand why she felt she had to defend him when she was barely capable of protecting herself.  He sighed.  Having your thoughts read while reading another's thoughts was so annoying.  "Don't you have anything better to do?"

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him inquisitively.  "I don't understand you Neji.  You don't want me around you, but you don't want me to leave your side.  Make up your mind."

The boy flushed red.  "Stay out of my head." He stared at a tree.  "I just don't want you to get hurt before the chuunin exam starts."

"Can't you care about someone just once?" She sounded frustrated.

"What's the point in caring when the people you care about only get killed anyway?"

"Because otherwise you just live an empty life where you seek power and become a killing machine." TenTen shuddered as she remembered Gaara and the brief glimpse she'd caught of Sasuke's brother Itachi.

"I don't see your point."

TenTen rolled her eyes.  "I'm going home." She began to storm off, but stopped in her tracks.

"What are you waiting on?"

"Walk me home."

He didn't feel like doing it, but he couldn't risk someone attacking her on the way there.  Neji sighed and tailed the girl to her house.  Fortunately, Kotetsu wasn't there waiting for them.  "I'll come back for you at quarter to six."

"Yeah." She opened the door.  "Neji?"

He grunted in response.

"Try not to use the phoenix.  If my parents didn't trust it, there's no reason for us to."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"Neji."

"Quarter to six TenTen.  Be ready or I'll leave you behind."

~~~

Kotetsu stood in the doorway, preventing her from leaving her bedroom.  "Where do you think you're going?"

"Gai-sensei's having a late night training session and Neji's probably already outside waiting for me."

"It's not night yet.  Are you and Neji planning on going anywhere first?"

"Yes Kotetsu, we're going back to his house to screw each other senseless." TenTen rolled her eyes at the angry look on her brother's face.  "It's a joke.  Neji and I aren't serious and we won't ever be so you might as well stop worrying about us spending time together."

Kotetsu embraced his sister awkwardly.  "Sis, you know I want you to be happy, but why don't you wait 'til you grow up before you start getting serious about boys?"

"I'm thirteen and I'm a ninja.  I may never grow up."

"I think about that all the time TenTen.  I don't ever want you to get hurt again."

"Don't worry about me.  I'm quitting after the chuunin exam."

"Then why even take it?" Kotetsu was looking for any opportunity for her not to use the phoenix.

"I'm giving Neji the chance to redeem himself.  It's all he cares about." She shrugged.  "Might as well make someone happy."

"You better get going." He released her.

"Yeah." The girl slipped past her brother and unlocked the front door to find Neji glaring at her.

"You're late."

"Kotetsu has problems."

The pair walked across town to their training grounds in silence.  There was no need for speech between them when their thoughts were easily accessible.

They were met in the clearing by three older genin, one of them the kid who'd approached them.  "Congratulations Honda.  You did something right for once."

From the blonde hair poking out under Honda's headband, Neji and TenTen recognized him as the one who'd spoken to them.  "I told you I'd bring the boy and the girl to you."

"You did good."

"What's going on here?" TenTen questioned.

"Well whadda yah know boys?  She doesn't remember us at all."

Honda seemed to get cold feet.  "Guys come on, this isn't right."

Both of his teammates punched him in the stomach and then one of them kicked him to the ground.  "You'll have to excuse our brother.  He's a bit of a wuss." The more quiet one of the two stopped in front of TenTen and seized her lips in an overpowering kiss, biting down hard on her lower lip.  He stepped back from the surprised teen.  "Remember me now?"

Neji answered the question for her.  "You were the ones who raped her."

The leader clapped sarcastically.  "Give the boy a cookie."

Neji grabbed TenTen's hand and pulled her out of their reach.  "Leave us alone or pay the consequences."

The two older teens smirked at him.  "Don't worry kid.  We'll leave plenty of her behind for you to screw when you're man enough."

"You're making a mistake by doing this." Neji warned.  "Touch her again and you're dead."

He scoffed.  "No kid.  You're the one who'll be dead."

"I don't think you understand." Neji's fist burst into flames.  He was about to attack when he felt a hand push him aside.

TenTen stepped forward.  "Let me do this." She put her hands together and performed one of the seals she'd just learned.  "Phoenix flame no Jutsu." A giant fiery bird exploded out of her chest towards the three genin.  She didn't even wait to see if they were hit, she just grabbed Neji's hand and began running. 


	8. Chapter 8

~crying~ My computer went bye-bye, but luckily my good friend had a backup, so here it is for you, chapter EIGHT.  GOODIES!!!!!!!!!!!

**Chapter Eight**

"Tsunade-sama, we found a body."

At Anko's interruption, Tsunade, Izumo, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Kotetsu looked up at her.  "Details."

"A genin named Honda.  He was seventeen, six feet tall.  Right now the cause of death is unknown, but he does have kunai wounds and burns all over his body."

Izumo and Kotetsu shot worried looks at each other.  "Tsunade-sama."

She didn't even look at them.  "I don't have time for your biased theories."

Anko continued.  "Gai's student Lee found him in the clearing where his squad usually practices."

Kotetsu flew up from his seat.  "You have to listen to me Tsunade-sama!  Those kids have killed one of the village's genin.  What are you waiting for?"

"Proof Hagane.  We need solid proof before we take disciplinary action against them."

"TenTen has better aim with projectiles than almost any other ninja in this village, and don't forget that she just recently added that boy to her clan." Kotetsu protested.

"I wasn't aware that TenTen was a member of a clan." Kakashi remarked.

"That's because her clan has been dead to Konoha for over one hundred years." Izumo replied.  "The two of them are now the last of the Fire Clan."

Kurenai's red eyes widened.  "The clan that sacrificed their children to the Legendary Phoenix?"

"The Uchiha clan's fire techniques are nothing compared to theirs." Asuma stated, his cigarette dangling from his lips.  "It's hard to compete for supremacy when your opponents are living fire."

"I thought they were all dead." Kurenai sounded confused.

"My sister was the last survivor." Kotetsu replied.  "Instead of killing her and ending the clan, my parents adopted her, bent on finding a way to get rid of the phoenix and prolong her life."

"She added Neji to her clan a few days ago." Izumo picked up the story where his friend had left off.  "Alone the phoenix could've been neutralized, but with Neji at her side we're going to have our hands full with them."

"We still need proof Hagane." Jiraiya responded.  "The boy is a Hyuuga.  We can't risk his clan's anger over speculation.  He is probably the most talented ninja they've produced in years.  They won't be pleased with the prospect of losing him."

"We have a responsibility to the entire village."

"This is your sister you're so adamant on killing." Kakashi reminded him.

"I know that." Kotetsu looked pained and suddenly lost most of his confidence.  "I love her very much, but it's still better to lose her than the whole village."

"I wonder how your parents would feel about that." Kakashi murmured.

"My parents are gone.  I make the decisions for the family now."

"And I make the decisions for our village." Tsunade reminded him.

"I understand." Kotetsu and Izumo stood.

"Where are you two going?"

"To find the proof you're so desperate to have." The only chuunin in the room excused themselves.

Kotetsu set a fast pace, causing Izumo to have to quicken his steps to keep up with him.  "Where are we going?"

"To see Hyuuga Hiashi."

"The clan head?" Izumo questioned. "He adores his nephew.  He won't listen to us."

"He'll listen.  I'll just remind him of the last time Konoha had a super genius kid with too much power." Kotetsu stared hard at Izumo.  "The entire Uchiha clan was destroyed save one worthless child."

"Sasuke is a talented ninja."

"But he's nothing compared to Neji or to his brother." Kotetsu had a crazed glint in his eyes.  "The only difference between them is, we're going to stop Neji from becoming the next Uchiha Itachi."

~~~

"Hiashi-sama will see you now." The servant opened the door.

"Thank you." The two chuunin entered the room and approached the clan leader.

The servant exited the room and closed the doors behind him.

"You gentlemen said you had information for me?"

"Yes sir." Kotetsu stepped forward.  "Have you ever heard of the Fire Clan?"

"When they existed they were more numerous and powerful than our clan."

"They still exist." Izumo corrected the older man.

"Not possible.  The last of the clan perished in a blaze not too far from Konoha thirteen years ago."

He shook his head.  "Their newborn daughter survived and was adopted and raised by my parents.  When she became a genin she was assigned to your nephew's cell."

"Neji?"

"Several days ago they both learned that she was born the last of the Fire Clan.  I told him and she read it in our parents' scrolls." He paused for dramatic effect.  "Neji is a power hungry child and we're not exactly sure how it happened, but he has the phoenix's powers as well."

"I don't see how this concerns me.  My nephew is a smart kid.  He's making himself stronger in time for the chuunin exams."

Izumo shook his head.  "The girl was raped two weeks ago and Neji is still very angry about it.  We're afraid that one day soon his anger and the phoenix will overwhelm him and he'll lash out at the closest people to him, his family, spelling the end of the Hyuuga clan.  One person is already dead."

"Have you gone to the Hokage with your concerns?"

"She refuses to act as we've advised."

"I see."

"We know we can take the girl out, but as long as she has Neji on her side it'll be nearly impossible to defeat them."

"Don't worry about my nephew.  We have a plan in place just for occasions like this."

"Thank you for listening."

"I'm grateful that you came to me."

The servant opened the door again and the two chuunin departed.

Hiashi called his servant over.  "Call my daughter."

"Sir, Hanabi-sama is off the premises with her mother."

"Not her.  My other daughter."

"Hinata-sama?" The servant sounded surprised.  "I thought you had no more use for her?"

"Well, I just found one."

"I'll locate her right away."

Hiashi cursed inwardly.  Now that he and the boy were on good terms he had such great plans for his nephew.  Ending his life early would set the clan back a few years, but it was a small price to pay to save the whole clan.  He didn't doubt that the boy had violent tendencies or was prone to anger, he had seen the manifestation of Neji's hatred firsthand.  For a man to want to kill his only sister so badly she had to pose a tangible threat to him and the village.

His elder daughter appeared in the doorway of his study.  "You wanted to see me Father?" There was a bit of hope in her voice.  He had shunned her some time ago after he realized how weak she was.  To actually be summoned by him was somewhat of a cause to rejoice.

"Hinata, how would you like to be fully reinstated in the family?"

The girl brightened.  "Do you mean it Father?"

"Of course." He wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders.  "You'd just have to do a small favor for me."

  



	9. Chapter 9

First of all I apologize if this chapter hurts anyone's feelings.  I was told that this wasn't very believable by one of my friends, but whatever.  Consider Hinata a bit OOC then.  Also, I don't know the complete mechanics for the Hyuuga Clan's Curse Seal, so excuse me for manipulating it to my own ends…as usual.

**Chapter Nine**

_"I can't do it.  I can't hurt Neji-niisan."_

_"Hinata, I wouldn't have asked you if I thought you couldn't do it."_

_"I had hoped…he and I could be friends some day."_

_"We both had high hopes for him Hinata, but apparently he doesn't care how we feel about him."_

_"I can't."_

_"This is mercy Hinata.  His death will be swift and painless, unlike what the Jounin have planned for him."_

_"He's not really a bad person, why can't he live?"_

_"Because, even if he lives you'll never be his friend.__  He'll kill us all." Her father sighed.  "I know you don't want to do this, but you're the only person from the Main House he'll let close enough to him to do the seal.  It has to be you."_

The memory of her conversation with her father faded as she looked up to see her cousin standing before her.  "I'm so glad you agreed to meet me Neji-niisan." Hinata pressed her fingers together out of nervous habit.  She was not looking forward to carrying out her father's wishes, but she owed it to her family.

"What did you want to see me for?" Neji's intimidating glare was not making things easier for his younger cousin.

"I wanted to show you a new jutsu my father taught me."

Some distance away, TenTen was streaking through the trees towards Neji.  She had a suffocating tightness in her chest.  He was in serious danger and was totally unawares.

Hinata began putting her fingers together, going through the seal.

TenTen arrived just as Hinata was finishing the jutsu.  "Neji, no!"

"I'm sorry Neji-niisan."

The boy screamed in agony and fell to his knees, clutching his eyes.

"Oh God." Hinata whispered.  She had just seen her cousin's eyes explode in their sockets.  She was completely horrified, but was unable to tear her gaze away from his writhing body.  "Oh God, oh God."

Knowing that if she didn't act soon the curse seal would kill him, TenTen stretched out a hand to him, engulfing him in flames.

Hinata gasped and jumped back from her cousin.  "What did you do to him?"

TenTen leapt out of the tree and ran to the unconscious boy's side.  She glared at Hinata as she made the flames disperse.  "I could ask you the same question." She felt for the boy's pulse and was relieved to find one, albeit a weak one.  "Consider yourself lucky I was able to save Neji, because if he'd died, I **swear** you and the rest of this pathetic village would be burning in hell."

"I didn't want to hurt him, but Father asked me to."

"Well aren't you the obedient little girl?" TenTen's sarcasm bit into the younger girl's fragile psyche that was already deteriorating because of what she'd just seen and done.

"I'm really sorry TenTen."

The elder girl shook her head.  "I really don't care about your apology Hinata." She growled at the white-eyed girl.  "Just get out of my way." She scooped up the heavier boy and turned towards the forest.

"I can't let you pass." Hinata jumped in front of her, trying to maintain her false sense of bravery.  "You're both threats to our society."

"Hinata, the phoenix can do a hell of a lot worse than save lives.  So if you care about living at all, get the hell out of my way."

Hinata hesitated, but at the angry look on TenTen's face backed out of the way.  As she watched the girl flee into the forest she realized that it would take a lot of hours of therapy to forget seeing the blood spurt out of Neji's beautiful eyes and the heartbroken look on TenTen's face as he fell to the ground.

Kotetsu and Izumo appeared in the forest five minutes later to meet her still gazing in the direction TenTen had departed in.  "Did she get away?"

She nodded.

"What about the boy?"

"She stopped the curse seal from killing him and then ran away."

Izumo rested a hand on the young girl's shoulder.  "You did a good job.  I know this was hard for you."

"You can go home." Kotetsu said.  "We'll meet with Tsunade-sama and convince her to send Hunter-nin after those two."

~~~

As soon as she saved his life she knew it was a mistake.  There was no way he'd be able to use his eyes again, and without Byakugan there was no point in living.  At least, that was the way he'd see it.

She'd managed to find a deep cave under a tree fifteen miles out of Konoha.  It was very well hidden and they should be able to wait out the night there.  She'd found an underwater river some distance into the cave and had dressed and cleaned Neji's wounds.  Other than his eyes he'd managed to get a few scrapes and bruises when he fell to the ground.

TenTen looked down at the boy she'd risked everything for.  He was deathly pale and hadn't even so much as whimpered in the last two hours she'd been watching him.

She'd always loved Neji's beautiful white eyes and seeing them turn blood red had broken her stomach and her heart.  His perfect long silky brown hair had often made her jealous of its texture and shine and she had often longed to run her fingers through the long strands.  She stopped that train of thought right there.  Now was not the time to be fantasizing about a boy who was fighting off death.  Although his sleeping lips did look awfully inviting.

She trailed a finger down the side of his face from his ear down to his perfectly angled chin.

The boy coughed, causing her to pull back with a gasp.  He was coming to and it wouldn't be good for him to find her leaning over him.  As she watched, Neji stretched and sat up.  He ran his fingers slowly over the bandage on his eyes.  "TenTen?"

"I'm here." She placed her hand over his left one.

"What happened?"

"Hinata used the curse seal on you.  I saved your life."

He gently pulled his hand out from under hers.  "Why?"

"Because you deserve to live."

Neji didn't mention that he heard the mental, 'I need you' that she added to her verbal statement.  "We can't stay here."

"I know." She glanced up towards the entrance.  "If I know Kotetsu he's trying to send Hunter-nin after us."

"Do you have somewhere we can go, or have you not planned that far?"

"Wherever it is, we can't go now.  It's dark outside and I can guarantee that we won't be able to run from the Hunter-nin in the night."

"Where will you go TenTen?  It's not like you have family you can hide with."

Angered by his constant questioning, TenTen said the first thing that came to her mind.  "Sand Village."

"What?"

"We'll go there."

"You can't be serious."

"Why not?  Kazekage hates Konoha.  I'm sure he'll be happy to have two strong ninjas turn against them."

"Listen to yourself.  Your idea is stupid.  Konoha and Sand are enemies, my father got killed because of that.  Besides, he'll think we're spies right away and try to kill us."

"Well I'm sorry, do you have a better idea?"

Neji paused.  "Sound Country is closer."

"Right.  You'd rather avoid the Kazekage and go for Orochimaru?"

"No."

"Then don't say anything.  It's worth a shot.  And besides, you're injured, so I doubt we can make it to any of the other villages.  If we can gain his trust he might even let us take the Chuunin exam for him."

"You're awfully optimistic."

"You don't have any other ideas so quit making fun of mine."

"Sorry." Neji fell silent for a few minutes.  "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you're able to walk."

"I'm fine."

"Then we'll leave in the morning."

"Whatever." She was being optimistic.  With his eyes in bandages and Hunter-nin on their trail, there was a slim chance that they'd even make it to Sand Village alive.  Right now, the Kazekage and his three children were the least of his fears.

~~~

"Lee." Gai entered his charge's bedroom.

"You have bad news, don't you?  About Neji and TenTen?" Lee didn't even look up at his teacher.

"I'm afraid so, they left Konoha today.  I'm sorry, but we won't be able to compete in the Chuunin exam.  Maybe next year Lee."

The boy nodded.  "Next year is better anyway.  That way I'll have more time to recuperate."

"That's the spirit." Gai clapped him on his back gently.

Lee lifted his head slowly.  "Do you think they had anything to do with the body I found?"

"I'm not sure."

"Gai-sensei, Neji has a bad temper, but I don't think he'd kill anyone in front of TenTen."

"That's just it." He replied.  "The guy's teammates testify that it wasn't Neji who killed their brother.  It was TenTen."

"I don't believe them.  TenTen would never do something like that.  She's a good person sensei.  You know it too."

"I know Lee, but whether we want to admit it or not, TenTen's not the same person we've always known.  And the new TenTen just may be capable of murder."

"It doesn't make sense.  Why would Neji run away with her if she's a killer?"

"There's a lot about TenTen and Neji that you don't know.  And I think it's best if you don't ever know."

"They're my friends sensei!  I deserve to know."

"They were your friends Lee.  Right now they're fugitives, and a danger to this village." Gai sighed.  "I know this is difficult for you, but if you ever see them again, come and find me or one of the jounin.  To everyone else running away just proves that they're guilty, and they'll have to be dealt with as criminals."

"You can't kill them!" Lee had tears running down his cheeks.  "They're my friends."

He rested his hand on the boy's shoulders reassuringly.  "I know Lee.  I know."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

A/N: This chapter has gone through minimal revisions, as it has been brought to my attention that the old Kazekage is dead. 

Life in Konoha continued on as normal without Hyuuga Neji, which probably would've pissed him off to no end had he known. Tsunade made it clear that the Chuunin exam would be on schedule, despite their disappearances. They'd already been gone for over a week and the Hunter-nin chasing them had sent back reports that said they'd only had brief glimpses of the two and had lost their trail several miles away from the Wind Country.

She had ordered them to keep an eye on the two children and to report back to her as soon as they were located, but warned them not to confront them.

Preparations for the exam were in full swing when Neji and TenTen finally stumbled into Sand Village.

The people noticed them almost immediately, drawn by their Leaf village forehead protectors and Neji's black blindfold. Instead of challenging them, the civilians seemed content to whisper behind their hands.

"Would you look at them? I don't believe they have the balls to just waltz in here like they run the place."

"Kids these days have no sense of propriety whatsoever. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if their Hokage sent them here to assassinate our Kazekage."

"Don't be stupid. Our ninjas are way better than Konoha's. We'd beat those two children in no time."

"The boy carries himself well though. Even if he isn't strong I'd still believe that he is."

"I know what you mean."

Two teenage girls walked past the pair. "Hmm, he's cute. Too bad he's wearing that stupid blindfold and you can't see his eyes."

"Watch your mouth. She's probably his girlfriend."

"Come on, I doubt someone like him would be interested in her."

A tall, muscular, dark-skinned ninja stepped out in front of the two genin. "Where the hell do you two think you're going?"

"We need to see the Kazekage." TenTen replied.

"You got diplomatic passes?" The man questioned.

"No."

"Is that so?" He smiled at them.

"Why would we lie about something that stupid?" Neji remarked.

"Maybe you're as dumb as you look." He grabbed each of them by an elbow. "Come with me." He dragged them through the streets, with the onlookers cheering as they noticed their forehead protectors. He stopped in front of a small, run-down building. "You'll stay here until I come back. The best hotel in all of Sand Village." He opened the front door and dragged them inside. He smiled at the man at the front desk. "Congratulations Kentaro, you've got two new guests."

The man seemed to be in on the joke. "Then why don't I get their accommodations ready Ippei?" He opened a cell. "Welcome to your new home."

Ippei tossed Neji into the cell headfirst, dumping TenTen on top of him.

The clerk closed the bars behind them. "Where did you find these two morons?"

"Not far from the entrance to the village. These two say they want to see the Kazekage, but they don't have passes."

"Not smart, are they?"

"Nope." He leered at them. "Give me your names kids. If you're lucky, maybe the Kazekage won't want to keep you here for the rest of your lives." 

"I told you this was a dumb idea." Neji hissed.

"Shut up." TenTen glared at him and then returned her focus to the older ninja. "I'm TenTen and this is my friend Hyuuga Neji."

"Gotcha." He left the jail.

"Wanna get the hell off of me?" Neji pushed at her arms.

She rolled her eyes and climbed off the boy. "Whatever." She sat next to him. "Think he'll want to talk to us?"

"Me maybe, but not you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"He has no idea who you are. At least he saw me fight."

"And you lost to Naruto. That's really gonna get us in."

"I didn't lose to his daughter."

"Shut up Neji. You've been negative ever since we left Konoha."

Kentaro smirked at them. "He's your boyfriend?"

TenTen folded her arms across her chest and glowered at the man from under her eyelids. "No."

"And he's never going to be." Neji added.

"Way to go talking about yourself in the third person."

"Is there any particular reason why the two of you are so far away from home?"

"Doesn't matter." Neji replied. "We're here now."

"That kind of attitude won't get you within two hundred meters of our Kazekage."

"We don't have to be polite to a jail warden." TenTen muttered.

Kentaro put his feet up on the desk and leaned back. "Brats."

"Dick." TenTen countered.

Neji leaned back against the wall. "You're not helping."

"He's being a jerk."

"We're prisoners. That's his job. I told you we shouldn't have come here."

"Would you stop bringing that up?"

He stopped talking and rolled over onto his side. "Just keep quiet and wait."

TenTen rolled her eyes and sat next to him. "How long do you think he's going to take?"

"As long as he needs."

"I don't believe we came this far just to get thrown in jail. If I knew we were going to end up here I'd have stayed in Konoha."

Kentaro took his feet down from off the desk. "What exactly are you two running from?"

"Someone tried to kill him and nearly succeeded."

"That's no reason to flee your village. Assassination attempts happen all the time."

"His own family members tried to kill him and mine are trying to kill me. I just don't want to be in that situation anymore."

"What about you kid? Why are you here?"

"She dragged me this far, now I have to stay."

"What do you two think you'll find here?"

"Asylum."

Kentaro snorted. "There's no asylum here. The only way the Kazekage would accept you two is if he could completely place his trust in you and you were strong ninjas."

Ippei reentered the jail, a subdued look on his face. "Your name did the trick kid. The Kazekage wants to see you right away." He opened the cell.

~~~

"It's good to see you little Hyuuga." The Kazekage smiled at him. His smile was far from heartwarming, instead, it was filled with enough malice to make one's heart stop beating. Luckily for Neji, he had no way of seeing the man's expression.

However, Neji hated the Kazekage even if he wasn't the same man as before. "Why did you summon us?"

"Why have you come to my village?"

TenTen stepped forward. "We wish to request asylum."

"Only criminals need asylum and Sand Village has no need for criminals."

"But we are strong ninjas and we can be very useful to you." TenTen protested.

"You're genin, aren't you? You failed the last Chuunin exam."

"So did your ninjas." Neji replied.

"Their purpose in your village was not to become Chuunin."

"We know why they were there Kazekage, and we know that your village does not like Konoha." TenTen sighed. "And we hate Konoha as well. I don't see why the two of us can't become a valuable asset to you."

Kazekage flashed another intimidating smile. "I don't see why not either."

"Does that mean you'll help us?" TenTen questioned.

"Oh wait, I remember why. Did you think you could fool me? This boy is not wearing a blindfold for fashion. He's blind. What's the value of having a Hyuuga working for me if he can't even use Byakugan?"

"That's because he has something better than Byakugan."

Kazekage appeared slightly interested. "I'd like to see that." He motioned to the man who'd brought them in. "Ippei, do you think you can handle the boy?"

"It would not be a problem." He cracked his knuckles and stood in front of Neji.

The boy knew he was at a terrible disadvantage. From Ippei's grip on his shoulders earlier, he could guess that the man was strong, but he had no way of knowing what kind of weapon he used.

Ippei waved a hand in front of the boy's eyes. "You'll regret coming here."

"I already do." Neji replied.

"Is the boy yours?" Kazekage asked TenTen.

"No."

"Well, I suppose my advice means nothing then."

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to tell you to find a new boyfriend." He tilted his head towards Ippei, who was now circling Neji. "He may not look like much, but he's one of our best Chuunin."

Ippei had no intention of going easy on the much younger boy. He seized and capitalized on any opportunity he had to impress the new Kazekage, and this was the chance to rise higher in the man's eyes. His fighting style was simple, and didn't involve much calculation or planning, but he was able to overcome every opponent he'd ever faced. His weapons were his two fists and two feet. He leapt up into the air.

Neji smiled. It was a smart enough tactic. He couldn't hear him moving if he wasn't on the ground. But Ippei was underestimating him. He'd have to thank Gai later for his special training. His hand inched into his pouch and he slipped a finger through the hole of a throwing kunai. Just a little more and he'd have Ippei.

Ippei smirked at the blind boy. 'He thinks he'll be able to throw that kunai at me? I'll show him.' Ippei vanished.

Neji tilted his head in the air, confused. Where had the ninja disappeared to? His senses all seemed to be screaming at him. If he didn't find Ippei soon he'd be in a world of pain.

"Too late boy."

Behind? Neji leapt forward to avoid the impending attack, but Ippei still managed to grasp him by the ankle.

Ippei seized Neji's other ankle and rose into the air with the boy.

TenTen gasped as she realized what the man was about to do. "NEJI!" She began to run towards the fight, but the Kazekage's guards stopped her. "You cannot interfere with a fight between men."

Her eyes flashed in anger, but she said nothing, only watched as Ippei hurtled toward the ground with blazing speed.

Neji wasn't sure what the man was planning, but he could tell that the ground was coming up at him with unbelievable force. He had to get free of his grasp. He lifted his hand up higher, aimed the kunai in the direction he thought his opponent should be in and let it fly.

Ippei saw the kunai coming, but there wasn't any way for him to dodge it without letting go of Neji, and that was the last thing he planned on doing. He grimaced as it passed through skin and embedded itself in his shoulder.

Neji heard the slight grunt of pain and knew his attack had connected.

Now was the time to release Neji. Ippei slammed the boy onto the ground full force and then flipped over his head and landed cleanly with both feet planted on the kid's stomach.

Neji's body jerked forward involuntarily and blood spurted from his mouth.

TenTen's eyes widened. "NEJI!"

He struggled to climb to his feet. "Don't worry TenTen. I'm okay." He wiped some blood off his chin with the back of his left hand. "You're going to learn that I'm not so easily defeated Ippei."

"I'm not dumb enough to underestimate you." Ippei put his hands together for a seal. "Poor boy, you came all the way to Sand Village just to die."

Unsure of what was happening, Neji stuck his hand into his pouch again, withdrawing four shuriken. "This village may be where I die, but if I have to, I'd prefer to die at the hands of your best ninja, not a worthless suck-up."

"Shut up!" Ippei growled. "Deadly Wind Blades!" A chilling breeze swept into the room, causing TenTen to rub her bare shoulders just to keep warm.

Neji stood perfectly still. The attack was about to begin, and he wouldn't be caught off guard this time. His ears picked up a faint whizzing sound and then he felt an intense pain in his shoulder. He concentrated harder. He'd been cut with something, but it didn't feel like any weapon he was familiar with. He hadn't even sensed when he'd been cut, he'd just felt the sensation of pain. For that to be possible, it had to be as small as a needle, even smaller.

Another blast of air, and another wave of pain, this time multiple pinpricks in his arms, legs and torso.

He started muttering to himself. "Think Neji. Even though you're blind, you're better than this. His attack has to be coming from somewhere." On impulse alone, he threw the shuriken to his left and was pleased when the wind stopped.

"Hmm." The Kazekage appeared displeased. "He's more of a challenge than I thought he'd be." He nodded at Ippei.

It took all TenTen had just to contain her horror. Whatever move Ippei would do next was definitely intended to kill Neji. She had to stop them. She had to save his life, because…because…just because. She concentrated all her thought on the boy. "Neji. You just have to hear me."

He stopped moving. He could've sworn he heard TenTen's voice inside his head. 

"You can hear me. Just don't say anything. Whatever Ippei's going to do next is intended to kill you. You have to stop him now. I'm going to tell you what to do and you do it. If you understand, then nod."

He nodded slightly.

"Good. This is what you have to do…" 

Ippei paid no attention to the boy's hesitation. He was too busy concentrating on his seals. This move was what had earned him the respect of his peers and his Kazekage.

Neji hurriedly went through the seals TenTen recited and when he was done he felt a familiar heat tear through his body, focusing on one spot, his upper right forearm.

As TenTen watched, the scar pulsed wildly and then a myriad of words shot out of it, extending across every inch of his skin. "Do it now!"

Neji drew another kunai and sliced his forearm. He captured some blood on his forefinger and then signed his name on his arm. He intertwined his fingers and then pointed both hands at the ground. "Burning Soul Phoenix no Jutsu!"

Instantly, the ground between him and Ippei cracked and then broke open, sending dirt and tile flying up into the air. An orange and yellow bird with a twenty foot wingspan hovered in the air in above Neji. It squawked once and dive-bombed Ippei. The poor man never had a chance. When the phoenix connected with him there was a bright white light and then nothing of Ippei was left other than a pile of smoldering ash.

TenTen wanted to rejoice, but when she opened her mouth to call for Neji her vision went blurry and her last meal found its new home on the ground.

The Kazekage stood to his feet, a grim expression on his face. "You just killed one of my finest ninjas boy. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I've proven my worth as a ninja despite my blindness."

He looked over at TenTen who was wiping a bit of residue from her lips with the back of her hand. "The girl hasn't proven her strength."

Neji shook his head. "She taught me the technique that I just used. Now, will you grant us asylum, or will you wait until we have destroyed even more of your forces?"

"How can I know that you are loyal to me, that no matter who confronts you from Konoha, that you will forever be a ninja of the Sand?"

"Give us whatever test you choose." TenTen stated. "We'll prove our loyalty a hundred fold."

"Very well." The Kazekage began to pace. "Since you're genin, you will be required to be on a three member team. Unfortunately, with less than three weeks to go before the Chuunin exams, you will not have much time to gel with your third teammate."

"You're sending us to take the exam?" TenTen questioned, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Yes. If I am to rebuild this village to his former success like my predecessor wished more genin are of no use to Sand village. I will be sending you to live with your third teammate. You are not to be seen anywhere in this village without her at your side. If that happens, I will give orders for you to be killed on sight. If your showing at the Chuunin exams pleases me, then I will consider granting you asylum. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir." Neji and TenTen chorused.

He motioned to another one of his guards and whispered in his ear. The man nodded and grabbed one of TenTen's arms roughly. "Come with me." He dragged her over to Neji and then took him by the arm as well. "I'll show you where you're going to live."


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, I know it's been a long time, but my computer is dead and currently in another country getting fixed.  This chapter does have a bit of romantic interaction between the two main characters and the entrance of a third teammate who may be a tad out of character, never was good at those things.  The good news is, it's only been like a week between updates.  And people, if you didn't know, Calculus sucks.  Hmm, what am I talking about now?  I'll give you a million dollars if you can tell me.  Oh, also, Neji may be a tad bit out of character towards the end, the whole giving a damn thing, but now I think I'm giving out too much information before you actually read it.****

**Chapter Eleven**

Their escort unlocked the front door to a fairly small apartment.  He smiled at the two of them.  "Make yourselves at home.  She'll be here in a few minutes." The door slammed shut behind him.

TenTen felt the need to break the silence that had fallen between them.  "Neji, just because I taught you how to summon the Phoenix to beat Ippei doesn't mean you can do it whenever you want.  It takes a lot of practice to get the Phoenix to summon your wishes and even then…" A fit of sudden nausea twisted the girl's stomach and she ran into the bathroom.  

Neji continued to stand in the middle of the room, listening intently to the sound of her retching in the toilet.  He heard when the door opened and the girl reentered what must've been the living room.  "TenTen." He called her name softly.

Whenever he used that tone of voice it usually meant that he wanted her to come within arm's length.  TenTen obeyed his silent command and positioned herself in front of him.  "I'm here."

He reached out cautiously and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to stare directly at the black cloth covering his ruined eyes.  "You would've let yourself be killed today if it meant I'd survive.  Why do you care so much?"

She blushed, silently thanking God that he couldn't see her.  "You're my friend Neji and I can't see myself living without you, not anymore."

He nodded, releasing her face.  "This is the fourth morning you've been throwing up.  You told me before you weren't pregnant.  Were you lying then?"

She was enraged that he'd bring the subject up.  She'd never lie to him, and especially not about something as important as a child coming into her life.  "I can't believe you'd ask about something like that!"

"I don't see anything wrong with my question."

"It's rude.  And besides, that's my business, not yours."

"Stop avoiding the issue TenTen."

"Can't you consider my feelings for once?" Tears began falling down her cheeks.  "Stop being so cold with me.  I was fucking raped Neji!" She sniffed back tears.  "I've tried everything the nurses said I should do to forget what happened that night, but I can't…not when you keep reminding me of what happened."

"I didn't mean to." Neji said softly.

"Why do you care if I'm pregnant anyway?" TenTen threw her arms into the air to emphasize her point.  "Wait, I know why this is such a big deal to you.  The Chuunin exam.  Well guess what Neji?  I'm not pregnant, my period is not on and I'm not having mood swings!"

A giant sweatdrop formed on the back of his head.  He couldn't see her, but he was pretty sure she was pulling a scene.  "I'm sorry I asked, but why are you sick?"

She looked away from him.  "It's complicated.  Let's just say that I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Before he could respond, the front door opened and in walked the apartment's permanent resident.  "Why the hell are you two here?"

TenTen stared at the older girl in surprise.   "Te…Temari?"

The older girl reached behind her back for her fan.  "I'll kick your ass just like I did the last time."

TenTen quickly put her hands above her head to show she wasn't a threat.  "We weren't sent to Sand to kill anyone.  In fact, we weren't send here at all.  Please, just let me explain."

Neji interrupted.  "The Kazekage put us on your squad."

"That's impossible.  I'm paired with my brothers, and besides, the Kazekage doesn't tolerate missing-nins."

"He made an exception for us."

"There's no way I'm doing this." She turned back towards the door.

Neji blocked her exit.  "I'm afraid I can't let you do that.  If you complain to the Kazekage he'll have us killed."

"Let me know when I should start caring."

"Because I don't plan on dying."

She glanced briefly at his dirty clothes.  "You're that Hyuuga boy, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?"

"You made a big mistake by coming here.  You'll be dead within a year."

"I'm not here to make friends.  I'm here to avoid the hunter-nin and get a chance at becoming chuunin."

"If I'm teamed with you two losers then who'll watch Gaara?  Kankuro can't keep him in check on his own you know."

"Let me know when I should start caring." Neji repeated the girl's earlier words, an arrogant smirk stretching his lips.

"Fine.  But I won't be held responsible when Gaara kills you both."

"I'm not afraid of him."

"Then you're a fool."

"All men are fools.  That's what makes us such an endearing species."

Temari addressed TenTen.  "Do you need a bed trash, or do you prefer the floor?"

The brunette clenched her fists.  "I'm not trash."

"I call 'em as I see 'em."

"So do I.  Bitch."

Temari's half smile contorted into a frown.  "How dare you address your superior so rudely?"

"I'll talk to you however I want!" TenTen retorted.

"If I were you I'd watch how I spoke to me." Temari glared at her.  "Or have you forgotten how easily I defeated you?"

"I'm not the same weakling you faced then."

"That's right.  You're just a little bit older." She took the fan off her back.  "But you're still as weak."

Neji's eyebrows twitched.  Girls were so annoying.  "Fight as much as you want after the exam.  Until then, we're teammates."

Both girls glared at him, but they stomped off to opposite sides of the apartment.

~~~

A week had passed and TenTen and Temari still weren't being civil to each other.  As a result, Neji often went to bed with killer migraines.    At least there were only two weeks left before the chuunin exam and this madness would soon be over.

For the first time since she'd been raped TenTen was having a good dream.

_"Neji, this date has been the best night of my life." She smiled widely and snuggled closer to his chest."_

_"Don't talk about tonight like its over.  There's still a lot more to come." He pointed up at the sky just as fireworks exploded overhead._

_She gasped in surprise.  "Neji, how did you know?"_

_"I pulled a few strings."_

_"I love everything about tonight and I love you the most."_

_Neji__ smiled.  "I know." He tilted his head downward, closing the last few inches of space between them.  "I love you too." Their lips met in a sweet and gentle kiss just as another batch of fireworks exploded, lighting up the perfect night sky._

_The two of them parted a few seconds later, panting to catch their breath.  "Neji?"_

_He put a finger on her lips to still her question.  "Please don't say anything." He captured her lips in his again, this time being neither sweet nor gentle.  Instead, he shoved his tongue as far into the back of her mouth as was humanly possible._

_She felt his tongue scrape her tonsils and nearly gagged.  TenTen fought her own desire and pushed him away.  "Neji, you're hurting me." She rubbed at the red marks his fingers had left on her arms.  "Please don't hurt me."_

_"I don't want to hurt you."_

_"Then don't be rough with me."_

_He nodded.  "Take my hand."_

_She placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her into a gentle embrace.  "You're the only stable thing in my life.  Please don't go away, I want to be with you."_

_"You will be." He took her lips in his, effortlessly moving his fingers on her buttons and pulling the shirt away from her body._

_She shivered involuntarily in the night air, speaking absently into his mouth.  "It's cold."_

_He tightened his grip on her, radiating his warmth into her body.  He trailed his kisses down her chin to her neck and sank his teeth down into her flesh until he drew blood._

_She screamed and shoved the boy away.  "What are you doing?"_

_The boy hung his head and maniacal laughter escaped his lips._

_TenTen__ took a few steps back.  "Neji, you're scaring me."_

_He looked up at her and his face was hidden by bandages.  She couldn't see who he was, but she knew his chakra.  He was the leader of the genin team that hurt her, Honda's older brother.  "Please stay away from me.  Don't come any closer." Tears began falling down her cheeks.  "Just go away.  Don't hurt me anymore."_

_The older genin grunted and Temari's voice came from his lips.  "Wake up TenTen."_

_Her mouth hung open in surprise.  "What was going on?"_

_The creepy genin came even closer._

_"Go away.  Go away." TenTen protected her body with her arms and repeated the two words over and over like a mantra._

_"Shut up." His arm whipped forward and slapped her harshly across the cheek._

TenTen snapped awake, barely avoiding smacking her head into Temari's.

"You were having a nightmare." The older girl explained.

TenTen shook her head.  "I've had them every night, after…" She seemed to remember who she was talking to and ended her thought.  "Could you leave me alone?"

Temari rolled her eyes but left the room anyway.  Neji was sitting in the middle of the living room, apparently meditating.

"Don't even think about pushing me over."

Temari snorted.  "What makes you think I have time to play with little boys?"

Neji had no apparent response.  "Why did you come here?"

"It's my apartment.  I can come and go as I please."

"You have a purpose for being here?"

Temari sighed.  "I thought you'd like to know that your girlfriend is in the bedroom crying."

"She's not my girlfriend."

Temari raised an eyebrow.  "Look kid, I don't care about your relationship, but she's in there crying and she was moaning your name in her sleep and screaming."

"It's not my concern."

"Whatever you did to her in that dream, it made her cry."

"I'm not responsible for the version of me that appears in her dreams."

Temari marched over to the boy, seized him by the collar and jerked him to his feet.  "Her crying is pissing me the hell off, so you have to go talk to her and make her stop.  Now!" She shoved him in the direction of the only bedroom.

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Neji muttered to himself.  He felt around for the doorknob and when he had grasped it, opened the door.

TenTen sniffed back tears as she saw him come in.  "Neji…what are you doing here?"

"Temari told me about your dream."

"So?  Did she make you come?"

"No."

She turned away from him.  "You're lying."

"Tell me what happened?"

"What's the point?  It's not like you care."

Neji climbed onto the bed next to her.  "What makes you think I don't care?"

"You never have."

His fingers roamed across the bed until he found one of her hands.  He lifted it and held it against his cheek.  "You know my thoughts TenTen.  There's no questioning how much I care.  Please tell me your dream."

She sighed.  "It's no big deal."

"It's a huge deal TenTen.  Ever since this happened, you never once told me how you felt."

"You kissed me and then bit me." She traced her fingers over his lips.  "And then you turned into him."

"I'm sorry.  I won't ever let them hurt you again."

TenTen didn't reply.

Neji clenched his fists.  "How could you doubt me?  If they're in Konoha when we return, I swear I'll kill them."

"Neji…I can't let you…I've already messed up your life so much.  Please don't hurt yourself anymore over me."

He ignored her statement and changed the subject.  "You said you'd tell me why you were sick."

TenTen looked at the boy's emotionless face and was moved to tears.  She threw herself into his arms.  "The Phoenix hates me.  That's why it made me choose you.  It doesn't want me to have its heirs because it's afraid they'll be weak.  That's why…it's been trying to kill me."

He couldn't hide his surprise.  "What?"

"I've been puking blood for a week Neji.  If I keep this up I'll probably be dead before the Chuunin exam."

"No." He whispered.  "I don't care who it is, I won't let them hurt you."

"You can't stop the phoenix.  It's already inside me, controlling me, there's nothing you can do." She leaned her forehead against his.  "You have to understand that."

"There's always something." His fingers found her lips and he leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned away at the last second and his lips grazed her cheek.

"I can't."

He didn't know why, but at TenTen's rejection his chest suddenly hurt.

"I'm sorry." The girl looked away from him.  "I want you to kiss me, but every time you come near me I have to fight the urge to scream and push you away."

Neji stood up.  "I understand."

"No you don't." She sighed.  "You know what hurts the most?" She crossed her arms over her knees.  "It hurts knowing that they did this to me just to get to you."

"TenTen…"

"If I'd never been on your team things would be a lot better."

He reached down and pulled her into an awkward embrace.  "Don't ever say anything like that again.  I'd much rather have you as a teammate then any other girl, anywhere.  Screw everything else." He wiped away her tears.  "Screw everyone else.  Let it just  be us in this world for once."


	12. Chapter 12

Major thanks to everyone that gave me corrections, your efforts were appreciated, and will go towards the reworking of this story should I ever finish it.  In possession related news, the remaining evil brothers are named, and there's some insight into Kotetsu and TenTen's earlier relationship.  Chapter Thirteen is in transition, I have written half of it already, but I'm not completely pleased with it.  And although this is not related at all to Possession, Alien Ant Farm rules for their video for These Days.  They have some really big cajones.****

****

**Chapter Twelve**

"Sensei, have the hunter-nin found those murders yet?"

The middle-aged jounin gazed up at the bright sky.  "The last I heard they lost their trail in Cloud Country."

"They're not going to let them get away with killing Honda are they?"

"We don't have the best relationship with Cloud Country.  To send our hunter-nin in there would require wading through a lot of red tape."

"So they'll just give up then?"

"They'll get them the second they leave Cloud Country." Their sensei sighed deeply.  "What reason would those two have to attack you?"

"They're insane."

"That doesn't explain why you and Honda were in their practice area.  What the hell were you doing there?"

"They challenged us to a fight."

"Then why didn't their third teammate show up until after Honda was dead and why weren't the two of you with your brother when he died?"

The eldest boy lit a cigarette.  "What's with all the questions sensei?  Don't you trust our word?"

"We've already made a statement.  You can go down to the Hokage's and read it."

"I already have, and I found it less than satisfactory."

"We're sorry, but that's all the answers you'll get."

"I know you little bastards killed Honda and blamed it on those kids."

"That's a heavy accusation sensei.  You sure you want to say something like that without proof?"

"I've overlooked most of the stupid crap you boys did, but you've gone too far.  First you gang-rape a thirteen-year-old girl and then you kill your own brother?  I can't look the other way anymore.  My conscience won't allow it."

"Don't worry pops.  Once we make Chuunin we'll be out of your hair for good." He exhaled loudly, blowing his smoke into the man's face.

"Tell me, how did a clueless weak runt like you ever become a jounin anyway?"

"I stayed out of trouble."

"There's some good advice sensei.  Keep your suspicions to yourself, otherwise you may end up like Honda."

He sneered at the teenagers.  "I'll remember that." He could honestly say that he didn't give a damn about what happened to them now.  The Shiratori family was notorious for producing criminals so he had been surprised when the Academy had accepted their twin boys Ryoji and Kenji.  He had not been pleased at all when they graduated the Academy along with their younger brother Honda and were assigned to his team.  Honda was the only one of the three who had been remotely normal and they always blamed him when their devious plans backfired on them.  They'd force Honda to go along with the plans and then punish him when he got cold feet.  Their pranks were usually harmless, but what they'd done now was beyond anything he'd ever ignored before.  "See you in hell boys." He threw a smoke bomb at the ground near Ryoji's feet and disappeared.

"Well I'll be." He walked through the smoke, his twin on his heels.  "The little mouse actually thinks he's going to squeal on us."

Kenji smiled.  "Good thing we planned ahead."

An ear-piercing scream ripped through the jungle.

Ryoji motioned to his brother.  "Let's go."

~~~

_"Dammit Kotetsu!__  Why is that baby still crying?"_

_"I don't know." The boy replied.  "Every time I put her to sleep she wakes up screaming."_

_Her frazzled mother leaned over and picked up the toddler.  "Poor baby." She cooed at the one-year-old.  "She's scared and doesn't know how to tell us." She rocked the child slowly back and forth until she quieted down._

_"Oh." Kotetsu brightened.  "In that case, don't worry TenTen." He pointed his thumb at his chest.  "Big brother is a ninja now and he'll protect you from the bad dreams."_

_Baby TenTen giggled and stretched her chubby hands towards him._

_"Aww."__ Their mother sighed.  "Would you look at that honey?  She loves him."_

_"That's wonderful." Her husband said sarcastically.  "Now give her to him so we can all go to bed."_

_She planted a kiss on top of her daughter's head.  "Goodnight sweetie." She handed the girl to her brother and left the room with her husband._

_"You know, they really should build you your own room." _

_In response the baby grabbed a fistful of brown hair and pulled._

_The genin scowled in pain and carefully eased his hair out of her grip.  "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" He sighed and rested her in her crib.  "Goodnight." He turned off the light and climbed into bed._

_As soon as he got comfortable TenTen began to cry softly.  _

_He rolled his eyes.  "What did I ever do to deserve you?" He crawled out of his bed and picked up the little girl, silencing his cries.  He slumped back down onto his bed and allowed his sister to curl up on his chest.  "C'mon TenTen.  Go to sleep."_

_The baby smiled and her eyelids fell shut._

_Kotetsu smiled and brushed the thin brown strands of hair away from her face.  A worried expression crossed his face when his fingers grazed her forehead.  "You're so warm."_

_~~~_

_Kotetsu groaned as the bored three-year-old tackled him from behind again._

_"I don't like you."_

_"The feeling's mutual." He sighed and leaned against the wall to catch his second wind._

_"Why can't we go outside?" The girl whined._

_"Snow.__  It's cold.  You'll get sick."_

_"Don't care.  Wanna play outside."_

_"No." He reached out and lifted the toddler into the air, barely avoiding getting kicked in the shins.  "If you get sick Momma will kill me."_

_"So?" She stuck her tongue out at him.  "I've been outside already and I'm not sick."_

_Instantly, Kotetsu knew why the house was so much colder than it usually was.  She'd left the front door open.  He dumped her unceremoniously onto the floor and ran into the living room.  Sure enough, the door was wide open and at least an inch of snow had collected on the floor.  He growled in annoyance and pushed the door shut, this time taking care to latch the lock she couldn't reach.  He strolled back into the room to find TenTen playing with a kunai._

_His eyes widened.  "No!" He snatched the weapon from her and spanked her hand.  "Don't ever play with these again!"_

_Her lower lip quivered and her eyes began to fill up with tears._

_"Don't even try it.  There's no way I'm going to change my mind." He walked over to the fireplace and scattered the dying embers with a poker.  After giving up on the near dead fire he shoved his hands into his pockets.  Now he'd have to get more firewood.  "Stay right there TenTen, I'm going to get some wood so we can warm up."_

_The girl scowled at him and then pouted._

_"Fine then.__  See if I give you any candy."_

_"No candy?" She looked like she was on the verge of tears._

_"If I can get this fire going again I'll give you some of my leftover candy."_

_"Okay." She clapped her hands together in anticipation._

_He didn't really want to brave the unusually cold winter to go out and chop wood, so he picked up the poker again and tried to get the fire to catch some of the unburned pieces of wood._

_Suddenly the fire flared up, roaring to its full height.  The teen was barely able to avoid getting his face badly burned, but he couldn't stop the fire from latching onto his clothes._

_As his little sister watched, Kotetsu dropped to the ground and began rolling around trying to put out the flames.  "TenTen, get water quick."_

_The girl shook her head.  "You said to stay here."_

_He groaned and began to strip off his clothing.   "You can get up now.  Just please go get me some water."_

_The girl slid off the couch and shuffled into the bathroom.  "I can't reach 'tetsu."_

_He sucked his teeth.  He'd forgotten how short she was.  Oh well, on to Plan C.  He ran to the front door, unlocked it and dived headfirst into the snow._

_~~~_

_"Stupid, stupid boy.__  Not only do you set yourself on fire, but you nearly give yourself hypothermia and frostbite in the process." His father lit a cigarette._

_"It wasn't my fault.  The fire just jumped up all of a sudden."_

_"You were supposed to watch your sister, not dance in the fireplace."_

_His mother looked up from dressing his wounds.  "Honey, don't be so hard on the boy."_

_"He needs to grow up and be more responsible."_

_Kotetsu sighed.  "There wasn't much wood left.  The fire shouldn't have shot up like it did.  I think she did it."_

_"She's sealed.  You can't blame her for this, it was you being irresponsible."_

_"Maybe she can break the seal." He suggested.  "Have you ever thought about that?"_

_"She loves you honey." His mother sighed.  "Your sister would never hurt you on purpose."_

_He stood up and eased a shirt over his wounds.  "Don't be mistaken.  She's not my sister, she's your little charity case, and besides that, she's a monster."_

_His father stood, anger pooling in his chocolate eyes.  The boy braced for an attack, wary of what his father might do.  It surprised him to find that the man spoke calmly.  "Don't you dare say those things about her.  I don't care how angry you are, that child couldn't choose who she was born to or what lives in her.  We decided to keep her and we're going to protect her until she can do it herself."_

_"She nearly killed me."_

_"But she didn't." The elder Hagane replied.  "She probably just wanted to help you with the fire."_

_"She's three years old and she was mad at me.  I think she wanted to hurt me."_

_His mother stood up.  "You're right Kotetsu.  She is three.  She has no idea what she was doing." She rested a hand on her son's shoulder.  "Trust us, this'll never happen again."_

_The boy sighed.  "I trust you."_

_~~~_

Kotetsu looked up at his friend.  "They're sure about this?"

"Six genin left Sand Village two days ago and two of them match your sister and the Hyuuga boy's height and weight."

"They want to be Chuunin."

"I'll warn Tsunade."

"She already knows.  She'll wait until after the exam to charge them."

"Are you going to let that happen?"

Kotetsu sighed.  "I think I may have gone about this the wrong way.  TenTen is my sister and she's been through a lot recently.  I should've at least trusted her."

"She killed another ninja in cold-blood."

"I know Izumo, but she had no reason to attack that team, unless…"

"…They were the ones who raped her." Izumo punched the wall.  "We've been after the wrong people."

"She killed someone and the circumstances don't change that.  We keep the same objective.  They still have to be contained."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

A/N: Dang, it's been a while.  I wanted to upload this for a while, but there was something about this chapter that bothered me, but, I guess it works.

Things had not been easy for TenTen the last few days.  She just couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she'd nearly shared with Neji.  It was nothing personal against him, she just couldn't carry out such an intimate act with anyone at that moment.  And it didn't help that the Phoenix was threatening her with bodily harm inside her own head.  She wanted to explain to him so badly what had happened, but he'd completely ignored her since then, spending his time brooding.  Because the two of them were no longer communicating, that made the journey back to Konoha difficult for both of them, and it didn't take much for Temari to pick up on it as well.

Temari noticed their strange behavior at the very beginning of the trip, and had ignored them for the most part, up until it started to grate on her nerves.  TenTen was constantly complaining about the most miniscule issues and Neji avoided making any verbal comments.  Every time she tried to initiate conversation with him he would grunt noncommittally and turn away.  Frankly, they were both more irritating than they were worth and she was starting to see why Kankuro hated children.  At least they'd finally made it to Konoha and she wouldn't have to put up with them much longer.

TenTen adjusted the uncomfortable wooden mask as she walked through the streets of Konoha.  "I hate this."

"Stop complaining." Temari ordered.  "And disguise your voice better." She was still upset over being assigned to them and the fact that they'd parted ways with her brothers several miles out of Konoha hadn't improved her mood at all.

Neji ignored both of them.  "The exam's tomorrow at three.  We'll stay at the inn until then."

"Are you two going to grow up and get over your little lover's quarrel?"

TenTen and Neji growled at her in unison.

"Fine." She replied.  "I'm going on ahead.  I'm sure you two will want time alone to reminisce." She smirked and walked ahead of them.

TenTen snarled at her departing figure, fire leaping at her fingertips.  "I want to kill her so bad."

"Then why don't you?"

She eased her hand back down to her side.  "Her fan." She didn't know what it felt like to have fire licking at her flesh, but she was sure that she didn't want to know.

Neji reached under his mask and scratched his itching nose.  "Be careful TenTen.  I'm sure they already know we're in town."

"My brother won't hurt us."

He wasn't so convinced.  "Believe whatever you want."

"He won't hurt me.  I'm his sister."

"The minute he learned about the Phoenix you stopped being his sister and became his enemy."

"You don't know that."

"I've been nice about this and considered your feelings because of what happened to you, but this is ridiculous." He stopped her forward motion and grabbed both of her forearms.  "Kotetsu hates you.  If he got the chance he'd kill you."

"Let go of me!" She pushed the blind boy away and he tumbled backwards into a stack of barrels.  The topmost barrel teetered precariously on the edge and then plummeted, smacking the fallen boy on his back.

Across the street a dark-haired boy winced at the young ninja's pain.  "I don't want to be that guy."

Ino shoved the boy in the direction of the scene.  "Help him."

"Hell no.  That's way too troublesome, and besides, that girl is already helping him."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes at him.  "You really are too lazy for your own good."

Shikamaru smiled.  "You like me that way."

His remark caught the girl completely off guard and she wasn't able to hide the blush that spread across her face.  Wanting to avoid further embarrassment, she quickly changed the subject.  "Are you going to invigilate the exam tomorrow?"

He shook his head.  "I'll be patrolling the town in case there's a repeat of last time."

"You really think you'll be okay?"

"Yeah.  I'm not really worried about Sand or Sound.  They won't try something like that again." He scratched his head.  "I'm concerned about something else."

"What?"

"Neji and TenTen are rumored to be in town to take the exam."

"Oh."

"Some of the extra security is for them.  I never thought of either of them as dangerous, Neji was maybe a bit insane, but not dangerous.  Listen Ino, I don't want you to worry about them or me.  You've been training really hard lately and as long as you do your best you'll make Chuunin for sure."

"I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"That excited huh?"

She shook her head negatively.  "Scared.  About a lot of things."

"Ino, all you have to do is relax and let me worry about everything else."

"The Shiratori brothers were the one's who did it, weren't they?"

Shikamaru nodded.  "They raped her."

"They saw us that night.  They have to know that we overheard them."

"I promised to protect you."

"I know you did."

"Neji will finish them off for everyone.  And then he'll be arrested for murder."

"I should go home and get some rest."

"Yeah." A serious expression crossed the boy's face.  "What are we?"

Ino stopped in her tracks and faced him.  "What?"

He shrugged.  "I thought we were friends at first, but lately things have been different.  I couldn't stand thinking about it anymore, so I had to ask you."

Ino looked nervous.  "What do you mean, different?"

"You talk to me a lot more and tell me things you wouldn't tell anyone else, so I guess that would make me your new best friend, but best friends don't go around kissing each other." He leaned back against a nearby wall.  "Maybe I'm just thinking about it too much."

"Shikamaru, we're no more than we've always been."

He shook his head.  "That's not logically possible."

"So we're close friends.  Big deal."

"Did you kiss Sakura when you were friends?"

She looked mortified.  "No, of course not.  It's different with you.  You're a boy."

He dropped the topic.  "Forget about it.  It's not important."

"Shikamaru…"

"Forget it.  Go home Ino."

She put her foot down.  Hard.  "Dammit Shikamaru, you can't ask me how I feel about you and then tell me you don't want to know anymore.  I don't like having butterflies in my stomach."

"Then what?"

"Do we have to talk where everyone can hear us?"

"Where would you rather be?"

Ino pulled him behind a store.

He smirked at her.  "I thought you were bold."

"Don't do this to me."

"Do what?"

She bit down on her lower lip thoughtfully.  "I like you a lot Shikamaru, probably even more than you like me.  And I know that I'm not your type, but if you'd just give me a chance…"

"Give you a chance?" Shikamaru echoed, embracing the girl.  "Ino, you're the only girl I've ever wanted to give a chance to."

"So what does this mean?"

"I think this makes me your boyfriend."

~~~

"Thank you very much for your concern Kotetsu, but we've already put some measures in place.  We'll increase the amount of Jounin watching over the exams, as well as keep a few of the older Chuunin as invigilators." Kotetsu was about to protest, but Tsunade continued talking.  "Don't worry, you're on the list and I think you'll approve of the new chief examiner."

The door opened to reveal a male figure hidden in the shadows.  He walked into the room and let the sunlight fall on him.  He was slightly taller than both Izumo and Kotetsu and was built like a bull, all upper body and no lower body.  His salt-and-pepper hair was tied in a neat ponytail that fell a few inches past his shoulders.  His skin was ghostly pale, attesting to just how much time he must've spent in the shadows.  His Leaf village forehead protector hung loosely around his neck, embracing a half mask that covered his nose and mouth.  His eyes were an unremarkable dark brown, however it wasn't the color itself that drew you to them, instead you were hypnotized by the powerful emotions that dwelled within the dark pools.  The painful emotions of anger, sorrow, grief and betrayal.

Kotetsu and Izumo were unable to tear their gazes away from his, no matter how much they willed themselves to turn away.

He broke the silence, his harsh voice startling the Chuunin back to reality.  "Boys."

"What is he doing here?" Kotetsu addressed Tsunade, not the man standing in front of him.

"He's a jounin of this village and is deeply involved in our current situation." The Hokage replied.

"Imagine my surprise to get a message from our new Hokage telling me that my daughter had been raped.  Then to receive the news that she took a fiancé, released the Phoenix and fled the village only a few days later." He didn't appear angry, just hurt.  "That's news that a father should learn from the son he left responsible, not from a perfect stranger."

"How was I supposed to find you?  You never sent any news back to us."

"You never wanted to find me.  You were NEVER to take matters concerning your sister into your own hands!"

"You weren't here.  What did you expect me to do?"

"I didn't expect for you to let her awaken the Phoenix and will her life away to some kid who doesn't even see how special she is."

"It wasn't my fault she found the scrolls you and mother left in your bedroom."

"You let her find out on her own?  You were supposed to be there for, to ease her into her new identity, not reject her the moment she learned who she was."

"Maybe I don't see things the way you do old man."

Tsunade cleared her throat, silencing both men.  "Kotetsu, your father's extensive knowledge of the Fire Clan will help us to put certain precautions in place to prevent chaos.  You and Izumo will assist him with whatever he needs."

Kotetsu didn't respond to her.  "Did you return without our mother?"

"Your mother's dead.  We were returning to Konoha because she had fallen ill.  She died a few days after she learned about your sister."

"Don't try to blame her death on me."

"I'm not blaming anything on you."

"You blame everything on me!"

"That's because you never learned to accept responsibility for your own actions.  You always thought you could just clown your way through life, ever since you were a child.  Well now you'll learned that there are consequences for you actions when the Phoenix has your sister kill you."

"Hagane-san, please.  The boy has already put himself through enough heartache."

His father's stern expression softened.  "Kotetsu, I did not mean to become angry with you.  This past year has been troublesome, to say the least."

"I understand."

"Will you two be able to sleep under the same roof?"

Both men nodded.

"Good.  You may leave."

When they had exited the Hokage's, Kotetsu stopped his father.  "What was the mission that took my mother's life?"

"The mission was not what killed her, it was her illness."

"What took the two of you away from us for nearly two years?"

"I cannot reveal the specifics of our mission until it has been completed."

"It's for TenTen, isn't it?  You told me once that the only way you'd come out of retirement was if one of us were in danger.  That means that you knew something like this would happen!"

The bigger man looked solemn.  "Yes, your mother and I knew that she would eventually release the phoenix.  We were just hoping that we would've returned by then."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"We were trying to find a way to permanently banish the Phoenix, so that our daughter would be able to lead a normal life."

Kotetsu posed his question calmly, an enormous feat for someone whose nerves were completely on edge.  "And what did you find?"

He shook his head.  "There's no cure.  Once she awakens its powers, the phoenix will own her forever.  The only way to free her now is to kill her."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Sorry about taking so long to update, but my computer was screwing with me for a long time, and I just learned that I'm the only person it screws with, which leads me to think that I'm cursed with computers.  I can't promise that updates will be quicker, mostly because it's my second year of college, and even though my parents are far away they are putting a hell of a lot of pressure on me, not that it isn't my fault to begin with, but I can tell you that there are only a couple of chapters are left, and I'll definitely have them done and posted way before I have to start cramming for finals.  So here you go

TenTen did not like the way the people of Konoha looked at her now that she was a Sand Genin.  There was fear in their eyes, but she could deal with that fear, what hurt her most was the clear, unmistakable hatred in the eyes of the people who'd been her friends and neighbors less than a month ago.  Why did change have to be so difficult, especially when there was no other option?

"Don't concern yourself with them." Neji said.

He'd been so quiet at her side that she'd completely forgotten he was there.  "I can't help it."

"Then let's not be around them." He began to walk away from the noisy square, TenTen following very closely at his heels.  The boy didn't get very far before one of the very people he was trying to avoid spoke up and stopped him.

"Oi, you with the mask." The boy blocked his passage.  "Where do you think you're going?  I hope you're not trying to stir up trouble."

Neji ignored him and brushed past.

The boy dashed in front of him again.  "You didn't answer me."

A girl's voice reached Neji's ears from behind.  "Sasuke-kun, you really shouldn't challenge Sand ninja before the exam starts."

Behind his mask, Neji smiled.  "I wouldn't mind fighting you."

Another boy yawned.  "If we don't want to get in trouble we can't do it where everyone can see."

The sullen dark-haired boy scowled.  "I know that idiot.  We're going up there." He pointed to a mountain in the distance.

Neji turned to the girl behind him.  "Will you be okay with this?"

TenTen nodded, but then remembered that he couldn't see her.  "Just don't injure him too badly.  I still want to beat his team in the exam."

The boys began to head towards the mountain, but Sakura grabbed him by the arm.  "Sasuke-kun, you don't have to challenge every strong opponent you see.  The Exam is only a day away, please wait until then."

Sasuke carefully pulled his arm out of her grip.  "You don't understand Sakura.  I have to fight him."

"Why?  Because he's a ninja of the Sand?"

"No." He turned away from her.  "Because it's our fate."

~~~

Hiking up a mountain blind was very difficult for Neji, but he had TenTen behind him to guide his footsteps and made it to the top uneventfully.

Sasuke turned to his teammates.  "You guys be referees.  If things get out of hand, feel free to _try and stop me." He emphasized the word try.  _

TenTen held Neji's hand briefly.  She understood that for him, accepting Sasuke's challenge was a chance for him to prove to himself that he could still stand up to Konoha's best genin, despite losing his sight.  "Please don't get hurt."

He squeezed her hand softly before releasing it.  "There's no reason for you to concern yourself with me." Neji walked towards the spot where he could hear Sasuke arguing with his female teammate.  "Sasuke, right?"

The boy leveled a spiteful glare at his opponent, a glare that was completely wasted on a boy who couldn't see.  "What do you want?"

"I came here for a fight, not to watch you argue with your girlfriend."

"Fine then." Sasuke's fingers slipped into the holster at his side and withdrew a fighting kunai.  He charged at Neji, quickly closing the gap between them.

Sasuke's movements were way too quick for his ears to detect and for his body to react accordingly, so Neji did the only thing he could, he ducked and threw up an arm to block the attack.

TenTen winced as the tip of the kunai passed through the boy's flesh, sending a spray of blood up into the air.

Smiling beneath the mask, Neji swung his left hand under his injured right one and connected soundly with Sasuke's face, the impact pushing them ten feet apart.  If the younger boy continued to fight so impulsively, he would be able to beat him without the help of the Phoenix.

Sasuke had his own suspicions about his opponent.  His reaction times were slow and if he wasn't mistaken, his eyes weren't visible behind the mask, which meant that either intentionally or unintentionally, he was fighting blind.  Well, he'd have to test that theory.  He reached into his holster again and retrieved his shuriken.  Jumping towards the brown-haired boy, he flung the weapons at him, making sure they traveled at six different speeds and six different heights.

TenTen found it very hard to resist the urge not to scream.  There was no way Neji would be able to avoid all of the shuriken.

He heard the weapons whizzing towards him, and from the way they sliced cleanly through the air, he could tell they had to be shuriken.  But before he could even attempt to react, a scream ripped through his mind.  Neji clamped his hands over his ears and fell to his knees, trying to block out the cries.

Naruto scratched his head in confusion.  "What do you think is his problem?"

Neji screamed along with the voice in his head, as he suddenly felt TenTen's emotions assaulting him, fear, trepidation, and an overwhelming concern for him.  Suddenly, a clear image flashed in his head.  Sasuke was standing twenty feet away, he was on his knees and six shuriken were flying between them.  Just as fast as it appeared, it vanished, but he managed to catch one tiny detail.  TenTen was missing from the picture, which had to mean that the vision he had just seen was from her perspective.  He jumped up into the air and covered his face and chest with his arms.  The pain shot through his body in waves, four distinct waves, two in his right arm, one in his left arm and one in his upper thigh.  The two remaining shuriken clattered uselessly to the floor behind him.

Sasuke snorted.  "I was right.  You are blind, aren't you?"

Neji didn't respond.  

"You accepted my challenge, knowing that you couldn't see?"

"Blind or not, I'm still a ninja."

"But you won't be one for much longer." Sasuke put his fingers to his mouth and pursed his lips.  "Phoenix Fire no Jutsu!" A giant burst of fire left the boy's lips and consumed Neji.  He laughed at the silhouette of the burning boy and began to walk away.  "It's over."

TenTen smiled beneath her mask.  "You're not going to hurt him that way."

"Are you crazy?" Naruto questioned.  "If he doesn't get out of there, he's going to die."

TenTen shook her head.  "Look again."

Sasuke turned to face his opponent.  By this time most of the fire had died down and only small tongues were left licking at his shirt.  "What the…?"

In some places patches of Neji's skin had melted away, but instead of seeing blood and bone, what appeared to be liquid fire was plainly visible.  As Sasuke and the others watched, flesh began to knit itself together and covered the wounds flawlessly.  "You were right Sasuke, I am blind.  If I were not this way, you would not have had a chance.  This way I can toy with you before I humiliate you."

"What are you?"

"Have I begun to frighten you?"

Sasuke scoffed.  "I've faced worse than you."

Neji stretched a hand in TenTen's direction.  "Let me borrow your eyes."

As Naruto and Sakura watched, the girl's body went limp and she fell to her knees.  

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The blonde boy questioned.  "You'd sacrifice your own teammate just to win a fight?"

"She's not dead." Neji clenched his fists in anger.  He'd survived a long six weeks without his sight and all this time the Phoenix had held the key to regaining his vision.  He uncurled his right hand, revealing a small spark.  It ignited quickly until it engulfed his entire hand.  "I'll never let anything happen to her.  Not anymore."  He charged Sasuke and the other boy thundered towards him.  Neji punched at Sasuke's face, but the boy caught his fist.

The flames raced from Neji to Sasuke, covering the young Uchiha's body from head to toe.

Sasuke growled.  "Don't you attack any other way?" He sprang away from Neji and the fires quickly died down.  His lips drew back, exposing his teeth in a snarl.  He reared back and connected with the boy's face, splitting the wooden mask down the middle.  The right half slid off and clattered to the ground, revealing a black blindfold and the remains of the Hyuuga clan's curse seal.

Shocked, Sasuke froze in his steps, staring at the faded identifying mark on his forehead.

Before Neji could react, a puff of smoke came up from the ground and between them, and Jounin teacher Yuuhi Kurenai stood there, a pissed off look on her face.  "If you don't want to be disqualified from the Chuunin exam, I suggest you leave right now."

"Sasuke, let's go." Sakura begged.  "We need to get you to the hospital so they can take care of your wounds."

The boy scowled, but followed his teammates down the mountain.

Neji picked up the broken half of his mask and began to walk away.

"Not you." Kurenai grabbed him by the sleeve.  "I'd like to ask you to come with me to see our Hokage."

He jerked his arm free of her grasp.  "Why should I go with you?"

"You're wanted for murder, you fled the village and you're wanted for giving away our secrets."

"I didn't kill anyone, run away from Konoha, or share our secrets." Neji stated.

TenTen stood up, her sight having returned to her.  "He was unconscious when I took him from Konoha, and like he says, he had nothing to do with any of the charges."

"We'll let the Hokage determine that.  Come with me please."

Team eight raced up the path, skidding to a stop in front of their teacher.  "Where were you?  We've been looking all over you."

"I've been busy." Kurenai replied, not taking her eyes off the two teenagers in front of her.

Hinata stepped forward, gasping suddenly as she recognized the boy standing in front of her teacher.  "Neji-niisan?"

At the sound of his cousin's voice, Neji snapped.  "Come near me and I'll kill you."

Kiba stepped protectively in front of the girl.  "Why is he threatening you?"

Hinata lowered her head to avoid looking into his eyes.  He was trying to protect her and she'd done such a terrible thing.

Kiba looked back over his shoulder to get the girl's response, but when she raised her head, tears were running down her cheeks.  "What's wrong?"

TenTen laughed dryly.  "Now you feel guilty."

Kurenai defended her student.  "You don't have to say anything Hinata.  What you did then was what you felt was right."

"Of course." Neji muttered.  "Protect her, she's not the dangerous one."

"Neji, TenTen, let's not cause any more trouble than has already occurred.  Most of the Jounin already know you're in town.  Even if I were to let you go, you'd only be picked up by someone else."

TenTen stepped forward.  "Leave Neji out of this.  I was the one who hurt that kid.  I'm the one who's the danger to Konoha, not him.  I ruined his life enough already, please just take me and let him go."

"He can plead his case before the Hokage."

~~~

Izumo rushed into Tsunade's office.  "Neji and TenTen have been located.  Kurenai is bringing them here as we speak."

Tsunade looked to the burly man at her side.  "Are you truly able to carry out the plan you suggested, Hagane-san?"

The man's face was impassive.  "It is my job to do what is in the best interest of my village.  The Phoenix presents a terrible threat to Konoha.  While the children may not realize that they have violent tendencies, the Phoenix desires revenge for every injustice done against it."

"Is there an alternative to killing them?" Tsunade questioned.

"There is a seal that the Fire Clan used on their children, but there is no documentation that it will continue to work after the Phoenix has been awakened."

"But it's worth a try?"

"It's a four-handed seal, so the one being sealed has to agree with it."

The door opened just then and two teenage ninjas entered the room, followed by Kurenai.  The girl's eyes were staring at the ground and there was an air of disappointment and anger around her.  After being nudged by Kurenai, she looked up and her eyes met those of her father's.  Her forehead wrinkled in confusion.  "Daddy?  What are you doing here?"

His sad eyes smiled softly.  "I came here to see you." He walked towards the girl, arms extended for a hug.

TenTen took one step in her father's direction, before something else took hold of her and she backed up into Neji, both arms stretched out, as if trying to block him from coming nearer to her.  "NO!" Fire shot out of her hands and would probably have burned him had he not ducked.  "Why are you lying to me?"

"I am not lying.  I am here to see you."

She shook her head, laughing sarcastically.  "No you don't.  You're here to get rid of me, just like Kotetsu wants."

"That's not true." He countered.  "I'd never want to hurt you."

"The whole village wants me dead, despite the fact that I was the one who was raped and assaulted, despite the fact that those freaks attacked me and Neji, we're the ones who are prosecuted." She shook her head slowly.  "This is bullshit."

Tsunade spoke up.  "TenTen, we regret the things that have happened to you over the last month and a half, but we are required to act in a manner that will protect our village."

"And you think that you can protect this village, by imprisoning the victim in both situations?  That's some justice."

"I've said nothing about imprisoning you.  I was hoping we could settle this without jail or violence."

"Then how?" TenTen asked.  "I can't get rid of the Phoenix.  I'm stuck with it until I die."

The door to the office opened again and Shikamaru entered the room, Ino just behind him.  "I'm sorry for interrupting Tsunade-sama, but I have something very important to tell you."

"Can it wait?" She questioned.

He glanced at the two teens, who were obviously TenTen and Neji.  "You have to hear this before you pass judgment on them."

She sighed.  "Very well.  Go ahead."

"I know who raped TenTen.  And I know who killed Shiratori Honda, and it wasn't her or Neji."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, and TenTen just stared at Shikamaru in awe.  If he was going to say what she thought, then he would save them from most of their troubles.

Ino blurted out what was taking her boyfriend so very long to say.  "His brothers did it.  Ryoji and Kenji."

"Do you have proof?"

"We overheard them talking about raping TenTen, and we also overheard them warning Honda of what would happen if he backed out and tried to tell the authorities."

"Why did you take so long to come forward?"

Shikamaru answered the question for Ino.  "They saw us clearly, we spent most of the time worrying over what would happen to us if we told anyone." He looked at TenTen.  "I'm sorry for not bringing this up earlier, but even if I had, you had already left the village."

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest.  "If you weren't guilty, then why did you leave?"

"Neji's sight was taken away from him by his clan when they attempted to kill him.  If we had stayed, he would've definitely been killed, and I can't see myself living on after he died."

Tsunade smiled at the look on Neji's face.  "Is that how you really feel?"

She nodded.  "Nothing matters to me more than him, and I'm sure he knows it."

The Hokage looked to the girl's father.  "Would you like to say something?"

"TenTen, do you understand why we must do something to contain the Phoenix?"

"I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong.  There's more chance of the Phoenix killing me than there is of me killing someone else.  Even though I have the Phoenix, I'm still myself, just like Naruto has the Kyubi, but he's still Naruto." (A/N: I have no idea if she knows about Naruto, but for my purposes she knows.)

"I don't think Kotetsu has every looked at it that way." Izumo said.  "He's wanted so badly to prevent something like the attack twelve years ago that killed so many of friends that he hasn't even realized that no matter what lives inside of you, you're still his sister."

"So what are you going to do to me?"

"I see no reason not to allow you to participate in the exam tomorrow, but there is still the issue of selling our secrets, but I will discuss this after the preliminary exam is complete.  You will retire to TenTen's home where you will be supervised by both Hagane-san and Izumo and you won't be allowed to leave until it is time for the exam tomorrow.  Kurenai."

The Jounin stepped forward.  "Yes ma'am."

"Find everyone who saw Neji's face and warn them not to mention his and TenTen's presence to anyone."

Her father placed his large hands on TenTen's shoulders.  "Come on.  Let's go home."

"Wait." She broke free of his grasp and walked over to Shikamaru.  "Excuse me Ino." She kissed him on the cheek.  "Thank you."

Ino turned slightly red from jealousy, but didn't say anything.

TenTen returned to her father's side and allowed him to usher her out of the office.

Izumo placed his hand on Neji's shoulder to lead the blind boy out.

Well, this hadn't turned out as badly as she'd dreaded.  For now she would only lose her freedom and not her life, and that was a miracle in itself.  And they were even letting them take the Chuunin exam.  She would take this blessing from God and ask no questions.  She was alive and so was Neji and she couldn't ask for anything more.

After everyone left, Tsunade walked out and motioned to a Chuunin.  "Get Kotetsu for me."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Ehhhh, this chapter took a hell of a long time to write.  Usually I'm able to type them in one sitting.  I don't even know when this is ending anymore, because once I actually started writing I tampered with my intended storyline, but there is a sequel planned, so you have that and future chapters of Possession to look forward to.

Neji was asleep.  It turned out that the boy had been fighting sleep all the way back from the Hokage's office, and had succumbed to it once they'd entered the house.  He had curled up on the hand-knit rug in front of their sofa and had lain there dozing for the past three hours.  The fight with Sasuke had tired him out completely, or perhaps it was the events of the last month or so that had finally taken everything out of him.

A few feet down the hall, TenTen was sleeping fitfully on her bed, tossing and turning every few moments.  Finally, her frantic motions ceased and she appeared to comfortably fall asleep.  Once he was sure the girl wouldn't wake up, her father emerged from the shadows and brushed a strand of long brown hair away from her face.

He regretted leaving the girl behind more than ever now.  Her brother had tried, but he was unable to take care of her.  The last year she had grown up a lot, and she had badly needed her parents in her life.  Even though she was a ninja, even though she was so outwardly mature, she was still a child, barely a teenager.

The elder Hagane bent over and placed a soft kiss from rough lips against his daughter's pale forehead.  She was blazing hot, a result of her symbiosis with the phoenix, and the man nearly singed his lips on her head.  Finally able to acknowledge that she would be fine without his constant hovering presence he exited the room.

As he passed the living room his curiosity got the best of him and he stopped.  He had to see the boy that TenTen cared so much about.  From what the reports had said, he was a member of the Hyuuga clan, and a part of the lower house.  The side of the family he was born into had nothing to do with his strength, and was by far one of the more powerful members of his clan, even at such a young age.  The boy's eyes were closed and his left hand was curled tightly around the sleeve of his jacket.

From what the man could tell, the young Hyuuga boy looked like he would grow up to be a strong man, and despite his personal convictions, he would be capable of taking care of his daughter when the two of them grew up.  Neji had taken on the burden of the Phoenix, selfishly or not, and after TenTen had been raped, he had been the one at her side, comforting her and easing her through it, instead of her brother, and instead of her father.  These actions alone proved to the aging man that the boy was certainly worthy of one day becoming his daughter's husband, if they were lucky enough to survive to marrying age.  For the two of them to be accepted again by the village, they would have to go to extensive lengths to lose what had become a living, breathing part of them.

Sighing, the elder ninja stretched and walked to his room.  He needed sleep if he was going to peruse the historical volumes of the Fire Clan.

~~~

Kotetsu was incensed.  Pissed off.  Infuriated.  He was standing just outside the door of the Shiratori home, about to arrest the twin boys for the rape and assault of his sister, and the murder of their own brother.  Controlling himself for the moment, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

He waited, and for five minutes there was no response, so he knocked again.  This time he could hear sandaled feet moving towards the front door and seconds later it was opened.  One of the twins was standing in front of him.  He didn't care which one it was, and in his anger couldn't remember the subtle differences between them.  He just grabbed the offending boy by the neck and growled at him.  "Where's your brother?"

He turned his head to face inside his house.  "Ryoji, some guy's here to see you." He started to walk back into the house.

Kotetsu jerked the genin back towards him.  "I want to see you too."

The twin walked to the doorway and smirked at the Chuunin.  "What the hell do you want with us?"

"I'm here to arrest you."

Ryoji scoffed.  "For what?"

"The rape and assault of Hagane TenTen, and the murder of your brother, Shiratori Honda."

"We didn't do anything." Kenji removed the man's hand from around his neck.  "And I bet you don't have proof."

"We have two witnesses who overheard you discussing what you did to her."

Kenji scowled.  "I know we should've beaten up that Shikamaru kid when we had the chance."

"Shut up Kenji." He smiled at Kotetsu.  "Alright, we'll go with you, but I'll warn you, there's no way you can pin anything on us.  No matter how much so called proof you have."

"We'll see about that."

~~~

_"Hey kid, do your parents know you're still out here?" A ninja covered in bandages asked._

_TenTen looked up from her targets.  She had not expected anyone else to be out this late._

_"You should be getting home.  How about I walk you back?"_

_She didn't know why, but his offer didn't seem genuine.  "That's okay.  I can get back on my own.  Thanks for offering though."_

_Laughter filled the clearing.  Two more boys joined the first, one standing directly behind her and the other to her left.  "My brother offered to walk you home, I think it would be in your best interests not to turn him down."_

_TenTen's brain raced.  Most of her weapons were lying scattered all over the ground.  Her blood pumping furiously in her ears, she reached behind her, strings of chakra extending from her fingers and artfully lifted her weapons towards her._

_One of the boys appeared in front of her and kicked her in the stomach.  "I wouldn't if I were you." He gripped her face, digging his fingers into her cheeks._

_His teammate grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.  "Keep still.  I hear it's really painful if you struggle."_

_Her brown eyes widened.  "What are you going to do to me?"_

_The one in the front pulled the half mask down from his lips.  "What do you think?" He leaned in and met his lips with hers._

_Angry at his intrusion of her mouth, TenTen brought her teeth down on his tongue, not stopping until she could taste his blood on her tongue._

_The older boy reared back and slapped her.  "You little bitch."_

_TenTen glared at the third boy, who was still standing a ways off, watching with an unreadable expression in his eyes.  "How could you?"_

_"Nothing personal."__ The boy behind her replied.  "You just picked the wrong people to be friends with."_

_The one in front of her spat in her eyes.__  "Take off her clothes."_

_"No!" She yelled, jumping forward to try to break their grasp on her.  "Let me go!"_

_"Not until we're finished."_

_"Please." Tears streamed down her face.  "Let me go.  Don't hurt me."_

_The first boy's impassive front shattered.  He now seemed concerned for the girl.  "Look guys, we don't have to do this to her.  We can get our point across some other way."_

_"Shut up.  Don't you have any respect for your family name?"_

_"Look at her.  She's crying.  She's just a kid.  We don't need to hurt her."_

_The boy behind her picked up one of her discarded weapons and threw it at the doubtful boy.  Luckily he jumped out of the way to avoid being hit.  "I get it.  I'm sorry." He left his spot and wandered over to her.  "Don't hold this against me."_

TenTen woke up screaming.  The door was flung open and in that instant, her father, the huge man that he was, was sitting on her bed, his arms wrapped around her, rocking her slowly.  "What happened?"

"She had a nightmare." Neji's voice came from the doorway.  He was standing there with his arms folded across his chest, his empty white eyes still managing to look intimidating.  "She hasn't had them in a while.  Coming back to Konoha and finding out who did this to her must've brought them back."

"Are you going to be okay?" Her father questioned.

The girl nodded.  "I think so.  It was just a dream."

Neji didn't look convinced.  "Why are you still thinking about it if it was just a dream?"

Her father looked upset.  "How can you talk to her like that?  She's been through a lot."

"And I haven't?" He questioned.  "I lost my sight, and I was banned from this village just like her."

"I understand how you feel, but you have to think about her."

"Have you even thought about her?"

"Neji, if you're going to marry her one day…"

TenTen cut them both off.  "That's enough!  It was just a dream, the two of you don't need to worry about me.  And don't patronize Neji, we're only thirteen."

The man bowed his head.  "I'm sorry TenTen, but after losing your mother and being faced with the possibility of losing you, I guess I can't face the thought that everything is slowly being pulled out of my control."

"They were never in your control to begin with." Neji replied.  "We're all jerked around by the strings of fate."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"Live within the constraints of fate."

"Your life must've been far from easy for you to have an outlook like that." Her father murmured.

"I don't have the right to complain.  Who would hear my complaints anyway?"

"What's going to happen to us Father?"

"I don't know.  I'm going to try and find a way to seal the Phoenix again, but if that doesn't work out, the rest of your short lives will be very difficult." He rubbed his chin.  "It would be best if the two of you got used to the idea of assassination attempts." He stood up from the bed.  "Good luck in the exam."

Both teens nodded as the man exited.  Once he was gone, Neji climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist.

"What are you doing?" TenTen's voice shook as she tried to contain her surprise.

"You weren't thinking of the dream as long as your father held you in his arms, and I don't want to be bothered by thoughts of your nightmares."

TenTen smiled.  In his own weird way Neji was showing his affection for her.  "I'm gonna try to go back to sleep, so you don't have to stay."

"I'll go to sleep as well." Without another word, the boy released her and lay down on her bed, closing his eyes the moment his head hit the pillow.

The girl opened her mouth to protest him sharing her bed, but thought better of it and stretched out on the bed herself.  With any luck, tomorrow would be a good day.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: When I first started writing this I didn't mean for it to become so Temari centric, but I guess she deserves her shine, as she has been their teammate for the past few chapters and hasn't gotten all that much to say or do.  I also didn't mean for her to have so much conversation with Kotetsu, but I guess they have something in common, in this story anyway.  On a separate note, I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter, you got me motivated to write this chapter when I was going to be lazy about it.  This chapter would've come out sooner if my computer hadn't been knocked off my college's network and successfully killed my desire to work on this story.  Thankfully, I got back on today and completed the chapter so you can enjoy it.

Temari was going nuts.  She'd woken up four hours ago and was unable to go back to sleep.  She wanted nothing more than for the next day to come so she could compete in the Chuunin exam.  The constant pacing of the Chuunin outside wasn't helping to calm her already on-edge nerves.  Being completely alone in the darkened room with the guards stomping around outside only served to convince her more and more that she was some sort of prisoner.

One of the Chuunin, Kotetsu was his name, had come in earlier and told her that her teammates had been arrested and held on crimes that they'd committed in Konoha, but that they would be allowed to participate in the exam.  __

_"What do you mean my teammates are under house-arrest?" Temari was one step away from attacking the Chuunin standing in front of her._

_"Neji and TenTen are being held under suspicion of committing various crimes in this village."_

_She gritted her teeth.  "Why am I being punished?  I need them to take the exam tomorrow."_

_The Chuunin was a tall man with spiky black hair and he wore several bandages wrapped sparingly across his face.  "Don't worry.  They'll be present to take the exam tomorrow.  Their trial will be held after the exam has been completed."_

Temari rolled her eyes as she recalled the event.  Just what kind of bullshit laws did they have in this village?  They were going to let criminals who'd abandoned their own village participate in an exam where they could freely kill ninjas from Konoha.  Something like that would never be allowed by their Kazekage.  In fact, she was more inclined to believe that they were spies planted in Sand to determine whether they had anything special planned for the upcoming exam.

Whatever the reason, the night before the exam, instead of last minute preparations like every team was probably doing, she was separated from her teammates, sitting on a strangely uncomfortable hotel bed wondering if she should try going to look for them.  Her mind made up, she picked up her fan from under her bed and fixed it to her back.  As far as she knew there was no rule against wandering the city as long as she didn't cause any problems.  Although with Konoha's heightened paranoia, there wasn't much chance that she'd get far.  Either way, she was bored and it was three a.m.  The hell with it.  Temari walked over to her window, opened it and jumped out, straight into the arms of the Chuunin who had talked to her before.  She groaned.  "Well this is an interesting turn of events."

Kotetsu pushed her off of him.  "What are you doing outside of your room?"

"I wasn't aware that I was a prisoner."

He groaned mentally at the teasing gleam in her green eyes.  He was not in the mood to start arguing with a kid ten years younger than him, especially tonight.  "What do you want?"

"You said before that my teammates were under house-arrest.  I want to see them."

"They're not allowed any visitors." Kotetsu replied grimly.  "And besides, they're probably asleep, like you should be.  Now, be a good girl and climb back in your window."

She smirked.  "What makes you think I'm a good girl?"

The Chuunin fought the urge to smile.  "Listen, I don't have time for this.  Go back in your room or I'll force you back into your room."

She took the fan down from her back.  "I'm sure you've seen me fight before.  Do you really want to fight me?"

Kotetsu was torn.  On the one hand this brat was beginning to annoy him, on the other hand, his superiors would be really upset with him if her team was unable to participate because one of the examiners beat her up.  He sighed and glared at her.  "Fine then.  I'll take you to see them, but you're not to stay for any more than ten minutes.  You are to follow directly behind me, and if you fall behind even a foot we'll be coming back to the hotel."

"Fine." She replied.  When Kotetsu turned around she started muttering to herself.  "Someone's got a mace wedged up his ass."

"I can hear you."

"Doesn't make a difference to me."

"You're annoying."

Temari yawned and stretched, folding her hands behind her head.  "Were you a goodie-two shoes your entire life?"

"No, but I got responsibility dumped on me and I grew up."

"Had a kid?"

"My parents left me with my younger sister."

Temari could understand that.  Now that both of her parents were dead, she was responsible for her brothers, not that she hadn't always been responsible for them after her mother's death.  "So what's it like?  To be in charge?"

"Who said I was in charge?" Kotetsu was starting to become comfortable talking to the younger girl and pushed his hands into his pockets.  "I'm just an underpaid errand boy."

She smiled.  "Funny.  I thought you were an underpaid prison guard."

"Yeah, people make that mistake all the time." At that he stopped talking, and lead her through the streets of Konoha to a small one-storey house.  "This is it." He withdrew his hand from his pocket and pulled out a key.

"Wait a second." She stopped him.  "You brought me to your house?"

"You wanted to see your teammates."

"You were the one holding them prisoner?"

"No, my father is." He pushed the door open.

A voice came out from the darkness.  "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the hotel?"

He didn't acknowledge the question.  "Are TenTen and the boy awake?"

"I don't know.  They went to bed several hours ago."

"Together?"

"They've been teammates for over a year.  I think they know how to behave themselves in close quarters."

Kotetsu stepped aside, allowing his father to see the blonde Sand genin.  "She's here to see them."

His father squinted at her.  "Who is she?  A friend of theirs?"

"Their new teammate."

"From the sand?"

"Yes.  Her name's Temari."

"I can answer for myself."

"The boy is probably awake." The Jounin replied.  "Let her go in the room.  They won't do anything stupid."

She thanked the man silently for his vote of confidence.  He was refreshingly less uptight than his son, who was way too on edge about this whole thing.

"This way." Kotetsu grunted, leading her to TenTen's room.  He pushed the door open and then nodded at her to enter.

Temari walked into the room and felt the door close behind her.  She peered into the darkened room.  From what she could tell, the girl was asleep on the bed, while her friend was sitting awake.

"Why are you here?"

"I was worried.  They wouldn't tell me where you were."

"How did you get here?"

"Some Chuunin named Kotetsu let me in."

"We're safe, you don't have to stay here."

"You're not worried about our performance in the exam?  You don't think it's strange that we haven't practiced at all together as a team?  How do you expect us to perform during the times when we have to rely on each other to survive?"

Neji was silent for a while, but then he found a response.  "Each team is only as strong as their weakest link, right?"

"Yes."

He looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl.  "You've spent a lot of time with her, and you've fought her before.  You know as well as I do that she's gotten a lot stronger."

"What makes you so sure that she's our weakest link?  You are handicapped."

"My blindness will not prevent us from succeeding at the Chuunin exam.  My former sensei in an uncharacteristic fit of genius gave me training that would be useful in a case like this."

"So, what?  I'm the weakness?  Is that what you're trying to say?"

"TenTen and I know each other.  We complement each other in battle, and I know already that she would give her life to save me, and I would give my life to save her.  Other than your fighting style, we know next to nothing about you."

"Well you picked a fine time to be curious." She rolled her eyes.  "Ten hours before the exam starts."

"Better than not knowing at all." He countered.  "I know you don't care much for either of us.  Personally, I don't have anything against you, but TenTen remembers that you were willing to kill her in the last exam.  She doesn't trust you, and that won't work well if we have to rely on each other to live in the second portion of the exam."

"Well then enlighten me Hyuuga Neji, how do I get your girlfriend to trust me?"

"She's not my girlfriend." He countered.

Temari shook her head slowly.  "You pretend to be grown up, but you're such a kid."

"Because of her dumb clan we have to get married once we reach sixteen."

Temari raised an eyebrow.  Where was this coming from?

"The last month and a half has probably been the worst time of my life." He sighed.  "First she got raped, then I find out that she's the last of a near-dead clan possessed by a demon phoenix, then her brother decides that he's going to kill her, so I join her so I can protect her, then the same idiots who attacked her attack us again, and we nearly killed one of them.  The first person to find out is her brother and he goes to my clan and has the head attempt to kill me, which is how I ended up blind.  TenTen decided to take matters into her own hands and flees the village, taking me with her.  Then we end up in your village and get assigned to you so we can take part in the Chuunin exam.  Now we're under house arrest for crimes we didn't commit."

"Am I supposed to care?"

He shook his head.  "No.  I said it more for her benefit than for yours." He slipped out of the bed and pulled the covers tight around her.  "Even though she's asleep she can hear us clearly.  It's one of the advantages of our possession, if you can call it an advantage.  We're always aware."

"Why are you telling me this?"

He shrugged.  "You're the only person I could think of who wouldn't be terrified to find out."

"What?  Because of Gaara?"

"You're still afraid of him." It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm learning to trust my brother.  Ever since his fight with Naruto he's changed, and the best thing Kankuro and I can do for him is to trust him."

Neji scoffed.  "You should talk to her idiot brother.  The last thing he would ever do is trust us.  He thinks we're going to rain down hellfire and brimstone on this village."

"Whoever her brother is, I doubt he'd ever listen to me."

"He probably already has.  He's the one who brought you here, Hagane Kotetsu." Neji groaned, stretching.  "He acts like the Fire Clan killed his puppy.

"Him?  She's his sister?"

"They're not really related.  That's probably why he feels like he can get away with hating her."

"He's an ass." Temari replied.  "Hating her because of something she can't help is something only narrow-minded pathetic scum would do.  If he's supposed to be her brother, he should love her in spite of everything."

"What do you know?" A third voice entered the conversation, catching the two teens of guard.  "You're a visitor to this village, do not interfere in matters that are not your concern."

Recognizing the voice as Kotetsu, Temari eased her grip on the kunai she was holding and let it slip back into its holster.  "I know more than you think.  And my teammate's wellbeing is my concern."

"You're a kid." Kotetsu stated evenly.  "I'm an adult.  Don't try to lecture me.  I've lived a lot longer than you have."

Surprisingly, Temari didn't push the issue.  She could feel the negative energy pulsating between the two males.  "Can you take me back to my hotel?"

"My father seems to think that you should spend the rest of the night." He shot a glare at Neji before focusing on the girl in front of him.  "Come with me, I'll take you to my bedroom."

Temari whispered goodnight to the boy glaring daggers at his future brother-in-law and then followed said brother-in-law to his room.  He flicked on the light switch to reveal a cluttered room decorated extensively with a sports theme.  Baseball bats, perhaps twenty of them lay stacked in a corner, while posters of foreign athletes were plastered all over the wall.  One of the more prominent pictures was a large blown-up photo of Kotetsu at around her age, dressed in what looked like a baseball uniform, balancing his four-year-old sister on one knee.  "The two of you used to be close?"

"I was her big brother, I lived at home, it was inevitable."

"But then you moved out?"

"I found out about her around that time." He pointed at the picture.  "After that it was hard to be around her." He shook his head.  "I couldn't hate her then though."

"But you can hate her now?"

"Who says I hate her?  I just have to do what's best for my village."

"She's gonna grow up to be a powerful ninja, you know that right?" Temari muttered.  "If you don't give her anything to seek revenge for, she won't come after you."

"Are you an expert all of a sudden?"

"No.  I just know what its like to be torn between loving and hating a sibling."

Kotetsu sighed.  "You should get some sleep." He coughed.  "Goodnight Temari." He turned off the light switch.

"Goodnight." She replied as he exited the room.  She rested her fan on the floor and placed her other weapons next to it.  She climbed onto his bed.  It was comfortable enough, but it had a man-sized dent in it, as if the bed had formed itself to someone after having the person lie in it for so many years.

She sighed.  The oddest thing about being teammates was that their problems became yours, whether you liked them or not.  And now, all of a sudden she was in the middle of Kotetsu and his sister.  She wasn't much of a problem-solver, in fact, most of the time she liked to sit back and watch other people's problems blow up in their faces, but she had to become involved in this particular bout of sibling rivalry before it destroyed half the village, including herself.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

A/N: This is probably the shortest chapter I've written so far, which makes me sad cause it took me so long to write this.  Sorry about the mini-cliffhanger, but I promise I'll get the next chapter out sooner, once I figure out what to do next.  Okay?

"Welcome to Konoha genins.  For some of you this may be your first time trying your hand at the Chuunin exam, but for most of you, this is a chance to make up for past failures.  You are only allowed to keep your eyes on your own papers.  Anyone caught cheating will be disqualified, along with his entire team.  This exam will last for two hours.  You may begin."

TenTen tried to stifle the anxiety that was welling up in her.  Morino Ibiki was not the invigilator for the test this time, so that meant that there would be no chance that Neji could get through this was a blank test.  They had made no provisions for a blind ninja, and Neji didn't know Braille anyway.

_"Don't worry about me."_ His thoughts weighed heavily on her mind.  _"Just do the test the best you can."_

_"Are you planning on copying from me?"_ She questioned.  _"What if we get caught?"_

_"We won't."_ His confidence convinced her, and sighing to herself, she put her pencil to the paper and began to work out the questions.  They were slightly easier than the other exam was, and although she wasn't sure about a few of the answers, she knew that she'd gotten enough right to pass.  She put her pencil down and then there was that familiar feeling of emptiness and she felt a cold chill as if someone had stepped into her soul.

Neji didn't know how to describe the feeling that overcame him when his eyes opened without the barrier of the blindfold for only the second time in over a month.  Seeing through TenTen's point of view took some getting used to, but he knew not to take too long with her body.  He scanned all of her answers, the questions and memorized the distance between the questions.  Sighing, he released TenTen's eyes, freeing the stronger grasp the Phoenix had on her.

He picked up his pencil in one hand and aided with the other hand began to fill in the answers.  As he worked diligently he could hear chairs scraping against the floor as genin teams were disqualified one after another.  He paid them no mind, hoping that Temari wouldn't do anything suspicious so he wouldn't have to feel the heavy hand of a chuunin on his shoulder.

Kotetsu sat on one of the chairs inside the examination room.  He kept a very close eye on his sister, but an even closer one on his future brother-in-law.  His sister didn't show much signs of being warped by the Phoenix, but Neji, who wasn't mentally stable to begin with was obviously struggling under the control of the Phoenix.

What was Godaime planning to do with them anyway?  Whether or not they had assaulted and murdered a boy, they had fled the village and allied with another, so that meant that they were no longer citizens of Konoha.  The only interest Tsunade-sama probably had in them now was to keep the other villages from getting their hands on them.

He had to admit, in the hands of any village with a grudge against Konoha, these two would be very dangerous weapons, especially if they continued to nurture the hate that his actions had probably cultivated in their hearts.  If they turned against Konoha, he would probably be to blame.  He'd probably have to talk to his sister after this part of the exam was over and straighten everything out.  That would go well.  

_Hey, TenTen, I'm really sorry about what happened with you and Neji.  I was just being an ass.  I didn't mean for it to go this far.  I was just worried about you, you know._

Yeah, right.  Even he didn't believe that, and it was a figment of his own imagination.

Izumo leaned over and elbowed him.  He pointed at a redheaded ninja and whispered to him.  "Him.  I'll get the others."

Kotetsu got up from his chair and walked over to the ninja.  He rested a hand on the teenager's shoulder.  The boy's body went limp.  All of his confidence disappeared as he got up and walked out of the door.  Once his responsibility was over, he returned to his seat.

Five minutes later, his father stood up and addressed the entire classroom.  "Put your pencils down.  This part of the exam is over." He looked around at the room.  "Only forty percent of you have made it through the written part of the exam and after your exams have been corrected the passing teams will be alerted by tomorrow morning.  If your sensei visits you in the morning you will be required to report back here at sundown." He smiled at the class.  "Good afternoon, and good luck."

The dismissed students breathed a collective sigh of relief and got up from their chairs, filling out of the room until only Temari, TenTen and Neji were left of the genin.

Temari looked around at the room full of ninja and scoffed.  "Are we still your prisoners?"

Mr. Hagane ignored her.  "Kotetsu, Izumo, take them to see Godaime."

"Hai, hai." The two chuunin stood up and escorted the genin out.

After a short silence, Kotetsu decided to ask the question that had been bothering him.  "So…what did you two have planned for after the Chuunin exam?  I mean, Tsunade-sama probably won't let you go back to Sand Village, and Kazekage won't be very happy if you stay here."

"Yeah." Izumo smiled down at the young teens.  "You may not realize it, but you're gonna have some pretty big decisions to make soon, all of which can get you in trouble."

"The new Kazekage doesn't have the power or respect that the old one had." Temari replied.  "He won't be able to hurt them."

"Are you sure about that?" Izumo questioned.  "Are you willing to risk your life to see if your statement is true?  You will be held responsible if you return to your village without them."

"Sand Village is my home, regardless of who decides to abandon it."

"Do you two really intend to return?" Kotetsu directed the question towards Neji and his sister.

"We intend to survive." Neji replied.  "Wherever we have to go to ensure that we stay alive is where we'll live."

"How do you plan on protecting my sister if you can't see?"

Izumo shook his head.  "TenTen is a ninja, she's fully capable of protecting herself."

He snorted.  "We both know what happened the last time we left her to protect herself."

"Don't blame your shortcoming as an older brother on me." Neji remarked caustically.  "I don't need your guilt."

TenTen cleared her throat.  "I'm still standing here.  You two think you could wait until I leave before you start arguing over me?"

Her brother rolled his eyes, but didn't press the subject any further.  He hadn't meant to get mad at Neji, but with all the anxiety that was building up inside of him, it was pretty hard not to want to unload on someone, especially one that didn't belong in their little family.

They stopped outside the Hokage's office.  Kotetsu folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe.  "TenTen and Temari, you'll wait here with me.  Izumo will be taking Neji in to see Tsunade-sama."

"This way." Izumo rested a hand on Neji's shoulder and guided him through the building into the room where the Hokage was waiting.  He pressed the boy down onto the seat and retreated to the back of the room.

Tsunade smiled at him.  "Good afternoon Neji-kun.  I trust that you did well on your written exam."

He sneered behind his mask.  "Did you really expect me to do well?"

"I've heard reports of the advantages the Phoenix can give to a blind boy.  However, if you become Chuunin, it will not do well for you to be incapacitating your allies so you can see."

"I don't do that by choice."

"I know you don't.  It's your only option." She stood in front of him.  "Neji-kun, could you take off your mask please?"

The boy lifted carefully bandaged fingers and slowly removed the mask that hid his identity, though not very successfully.  Today was the first day since he lost his eyesight that he hadn't worn his blindfold, and Tsunade would be the only person to see his eyes since that day.

Tsunade ran her fingers expertly over his heavily scarred eyelids.  "Open your eyes for me."

Neji forced his eyelids open, revealing dulled, empty white orbs.

Tsunade stared deeply into them for a long moment, her occasional sighing proving that she hadn't fallen asleep.  "Neji-kun, what would you say if I told you that there was a way to regain your eyesight?"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

A/N: Ahh, Calculus is such a boring class, the perfect inspiration.  Sadly, this is another relatively short chapter, but stuff does happen…I promise.

It was approaching the fourth hour of the morning and Neji was still awake.  The girl was slumbering peacefully beside him, and he was grateful for that, but it would not do any of them any good if he was fatigued during the exam.  The conversation he had with Godaime after the written exam kept running through his head.

_"It's an experimental surgery and it's very likely that it won't be successful, but it's better to try than not attempt it at all."_

_"What's the risk?"_

_"Well, your optical nerve is severely damaged, and I'm going to attempt to repair it by substituting in nerves from other parts of your body.  The optic nerve is specialized, so it may not work, but there is the chance that it could."_

_"You want me to sacrifice one of my body parts for my eyes?"_

_"It's your choice Neji.  If you truly want to see again, the risks won't matter to you."_

_"Where do you want to take the nerves from?"_

_"Your weaker arm is the most likely choice.  I would not like to impair you by paralyzing one of your legs."_

_"I will be able to consider this, right?"_

_"Of course, you have until the chuunin exam is over."_

He wanted to have his sight back, but did he really want to lose the ability to use his left arm?  He flexed the fingers of his hand carefully.  What would it be like not to be able to feel his fingers anymore?

His throat was scratchy and dry.  He was suddenly very thirsty.  He shifted in the bed to climb out and head to the kitchen, but he was halted by a hand pulling the back of his shirt.  Was she still awake?

"Don't go Neji."

He managed to push the irritation out of his voice.  "I'm just going to get a glass of water."

"You don't have to." She sat up and pushed him back down onto the bed.  "I'll get it for you.  Just try to rest."

"TenTen, I am perfectly capable of getting water for myself.  I can find my way around."

"Please.  I want to get it for you."

He decided wisely not to push the issue.  He heard her feet hit the floor and then pad over to the door.  It opened and then closed as she exited the room.

Why did she insist on doing such small things for him?  He may have been blind, but he wasn't helpless.  Maybe after all the things that happened, she felt the need to care for him to ease her guilt.  The only problem with that was that she had nothing to be guilty about.  Sure, he made a big deal about losing his eyesight and being dragged out of Konoha, but none of those events were completely under her control.  It wasn't her fault.  In fact, she was the one who'd saved his life, even if it put them in a pretty tough spot.

The door opened again and after a few seconds he could feel a glass being pressed into his palm.  "It's not that cold, someone forgot to refill the pitcher."

"It's okay.  I just needed something to wet my throat.  Thank you." He lifted the glass to his head and downed it.  When he was done he felt her fingers wrap around his and pry the glass from his hand.  There was the soft clink of glass on wood as she rested it on her nightstand.

A long silence passed between them and Neji was certain that the girl had fallen asleep.  He leaned his head against the headboard and sighed.  A voice came from his right, nearly startling him out of his thoughts.  "Try to sleep." She breathed softly.  "And don't worry about what Tsunade-sama told you.  We'll have lots of time to discuss your options after you become Chuunin."

If sleep were to come as easy as she wished, he wouldn't have spent so much time agonizing over its arrival.

He felt her arms encircle him and her forehead press against his.  "Don't say anything.  Just sleep."

Neji refrained from protesting, and on a whim tightened his grasp on the girl.  She gasped softly, but after she had recovered, snuggled closer to him.  She was soft and warm, and he could feel her gentle heartbeat through his fingers on her bare arms.

In spite of himself, he soon found himself succumbing to sleep.

_A woman was waiting for him outside the door of what he recognized as his house.  Her brown eyes lit up with excitement when she saw him approach.  "Ah, so you finally made it home darling.  She's been asking for you the whole day."_

_"Who has?"_

_She laughed at him.  "Being away from your family so long has been playing games with your mind." She turned and headed into the house.  "Come on.  Dinner is getting cold." She led him to a table and sat him down, warning him sternly not to touch the food until she returned.  He sat in silence, wondering who this woman was and how they had gotten to be intimate.  There was something about her eyes that was vaguely familiar, but nearly impossible to place._

_The woman returned moments later with a little girl in tow._

_Neji nearly fell over when he saw the girl's face.  White eyes, black hair.  This girl was a Hyuuga, and her living in his home made her his daughter and the woman his wife._

_"Daddy!" The girl tackled him mid-thought.  "I thought you'd be gone forever."_

_The woman smiled.  "Don't be silly angel." She ruffled the girl's long hair.  "Daddy would never leave his little princess."_

_He couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.  "Who are you?"_

_"The missions have gotten to you." She sighed.  "I thought Godaime would've lightened up after Haruka's birth, but she still seems to think that our talents are quite useful in battle." She rolled her eyes.  "It's me TenTen."_

_"Wow." His eyes danced appreciatively over her figure.  She'd grown up well._

_She narrowed her eyes at him.  "Neji, you're looking at me like you're seeing me for the first time.  "Did Kiba hit you over the head again?"_

_He shook his head.  "The mission was difficult."_

_"Do you want to talk about it?"_

_"Later." He didn't want her to curse Godaime in front of their daughter, so he changed the subject.  "Dinner looks good."_

_"I helped!"_

_He smiled at his daughter.  She was nearly four, nearly old enough to get the Hyuuga clan's curse seal._

_TenTen passed the platter of rice to her husband.  "I went to the doctor's today and I got some good news."_

_"Really?" Neji questioned.  He couldn't ever recall getting good news from a doctor._

_"I don't want a baby brother!" Haruka pouted._

_"Now, sweetie, we both agreed that I would be the one who would tell him."_

_The girl jumped onto the table.  "**I…DON'T…WANT…A BABY BROTHER!" She pounded her bare feet on the table to accentuate each forceful shout.**_

_TenTen began rubbing her temple with one of her hands.  "Honey, your brother is coming whether you like it or not.  I thought we had an understanding."_

_"**I DON'T CARE!"**_

_Neji tugged the girl off the table, kicking and screaming.  "Calm down Haruka.  Your mother has no control over the fact that she's pregnant."_

_The girl continued to fight against his grasp.  "**LEMME GO!"**_

_Neji rolled his eyes.  "I'll take her to bed." Haruka suddenly started to feel very warm in his arms and by reflex, he dropped her to the ground.  _

_The girl bounced up to her feet.  **"I hate you two!  I told you not to have any more children!" Suddenly, her voice wasn't her own, it was a deeper, more evil voice, one he often heard in the deep recesses of his mind.  He raised an eyebrow.  The Phoenix had a foothold on his daughter?  He didn't have a chance to react before the fire shot out from his daughter's arms, one streak headed towards him, the other engulfing her mother.**_

Neji jerked awake, sweating profusely.  He had gotten the message from the Phoenix clearly, touch TenTen, and risk a painful death at the hands of his own child.

TenTen was awakened moments later by the sound of knocking against their bedroom door.  She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.  "Who is it?"

"Kotetsu."

She groaned but called for him to enter anyway.

The door swung open and her brother walked in, looking harried, as if he hadn't slept a wink.

"What's wrong?" She questioned.

"Congratulations.  Your team passed the written exam."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" TenTen wondered.

"Why do you sound so grave?" Neji voiced the question that was undoubtedly on her mind.

"Last night, Shiratori Ryoji and Shiratori Kenji escaped from the jail.  They may be on the loose and we fear for your safety as well as for that of Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru."

Neji clenched his fist.  "You just let them get away?  AFTER ALL THEY DID?"

Kotetsu's jaw tightened.  "I didn't let them do anything.  I wasn't even the one watching them.  I just heard the news from Tsunade-sama."  He shook his head.  "Anyway, you two should consider dropping out of the Chuunin exam.  Staying in it would only leave you vulnerable to attack, especially when traveling in the forest."

She spoke up.  "We're ninjas Kotetsu.  We can take care of ourselves."

"I don't think you can.  If you could you wouldn't be in this mess.  Ninjas or not, you're still children, and it's about time you listen to the adults in charge of you."

"I don't need to listen to my failure of a big brother.  Am I supposed to trust you to protect me when you couldn't before and all you cared about was getting me out of the way?" She turned her head away from him.  "Get out."

"TenTen, you really should listen to me—"

"**GET THE HELL OUT!" She screamed.**

Kotetsu swallowed whatever he was going to say next and walked out.

"Are we really supposed to believe in justice Neji?" She stared out the window.  "How can we believe when justice continues to let us down?"

"Are you okay?"

She sniffed back tears.  "I'll be fine.  We should get dressed.  Temari's going to be waiting for us."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

A/N: I'm surprised I'm giving team 7 so much play as I barely like them, but they are the "main" characters so I suppose they should show up at least this once more.  As far as the next chapter, which may be out by Sunday, expect Neji to have yet another dream.

"Neji!  To your left!"

The boy pivoted on his foot and swung for his opponent's midsection.  There was a soft "oof" to prove that his blow made contact.  "Which one of them has the scroll?"

Temari hit her opponent over the head with her fan and grabbed something from the pouch at his waist.  "I got it." She smiled at TenTen who had her victim pinned up on a tree with several of her many daggers.  "Waiting around at the base of the tower wasn't such a bad idea."

With a swift kick to the ribs, Neji finally disposed of his opponent.  "Are we sure it's a Scroll of Earth?"

"That's what it says." Temari rolled her eyes.

"We've completed the objective.  Let's just get this over with."

"Not so fast." A familiar voice shouted down from the trees.  "We didn't get to finish our fight."

TenTen looked up at the trees to see team seven grinning back down at them.  "Do you seriously intend to fight us here?"

"You have something we need." Sasuke leapt down from the tree and landed directly in front of Neji.

"Do you really think you'll win?" Neji questioned.

Sasuke sneered.  "You're hardly a match for me.  You're lucky Kurenai saved your ass."

"If I remember correctly, you were the one about to lose."

Naruto took a fighting stance opposite Temari.  "Are we going to fight them or not?"

Neji cocked his head in TenTen's direction.  "Let me know when you're done with her."

"Hmm." She replied.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto split himself into fifteen clones and jumped at Temari, who just smiled and blew them away with her fan.

The boy gritted his teeth as one by one the clones exploded on contact, and then he put his hands together and summoned them again.

"I suppose your precious Sasuke-kun wouldn't let you back down even if you wanted to?" TenTen questioned.

"Like Neji is any different." Sakura huffed.

"Neji cares about me.  I doubt Sasuke feels anything toward you.  Stop deluding yourself."

"Shut up!"

TenTen clenched her fists and closing her eyes, breathing in and out steadily as she felt the fire spread through her body from a spot deep in her chest.  She concentrated harder and she felt it seep through the skin on her hands, a strangely pleasant feeling.  She opened her brown eyes to lock onto the frightened green ones of the kunoichi in front of her.  "We've come way too far to lose now."

Sakura breathed deeply and held her kunai in front of her to protect herself.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" TenTen questioned.

"Shut up!" Sakura repeated, her fighting spirit beginning to rise to the surface.  She was not scared.  She and the others had faced much worse than TenTen and Neji, and in fact, they'd survived Orochimaru and Gaara.

TenTen resolved to get this over with quickly.  Neji would need her eyes if he was going to fight Sasuke.  She charged the other girl.

Sakura planted her feet into the ground and when TenTen was only a few inches away from striking her in the face, she dodged the blow and slammed the kunai into the girl's side and then jerked it back out, sending a stream of blood up into the air.

TenTen skidded to a stop several feet away.  Her wound was bleeding badly.  She managed a weak smile and lifted one of her hands and placed it on the wound, searing it shut.  "Nice try." She stood straight up.  "Care to try again?"

Sakura steadied the now bloody kunai in front of her again.

The two girls charged at each other again, but this time TenTen avoided the kunai and gripped her opponent's arm, spreading the flames onto the other girl's body.  Disgusted by the lack of competition she flung the girl aside.  "I'm ready."

Neji squeezed his eyes shut tight and opened them to see through TenTen's.  He smirked behind his mask and drew a kunai.  "Now we'll see who's the better ninja."

Sasuke took a fighting stance and stood his ground.

Neji laughed.  "Are you waiting for me to attack?"  He set the weapon on fire.  "Very well then."  He swung at Sasuke with his flaming kunai.

The other boy ducked and caught Neji's hand.  Thanks to Kakashi-sensei's training, he was still faster than Neji.  He retaliated with a fist to the boy's stomach, and another one, and another one.  Sasuke's heart beat faster in his ears.  He was winning the fight.  Spinning slightly, he kicked Neji hard in the face, splintering his mask and sending the boy crashing into a nearby tree.

Standing shakily to his feet and leaning against the tree trunk, Neji coughed hard, spewing a thick liquid from his mouth onto the mask.  He quickly guessed it to be blood, and was proven right when he wiped it from his neck.  "Lucky."

Sasuke nearly attacked him then and there.  "Luck has nothing to do with it.  I'm a superior ninja."

"You're pathetic Sasuke.  Nothing more than a sniveling coward."

Sasuke tightened his fists, his fingernails digging harshly into his palm.  "Are you sure you want to taunt me?"

"Are you sure you want to fight?  I'm giving you the opportunity to back down."

Sasuke snorted.  "Why should I back down from a fight I'm not even losing?  Face it Hyuuga, without Byakugan, you're nothing."

Neji distanced himself from the tree, taking small steps toward his opponent.

Meanwhile, Temari was having small complications with her opponent.  While she had managed to prevent his clones from injuring her so far, he was managing to come dangerously close to her with each try.

"I'll make it easy for you." Naruto laughed.  "Just hand over the Scroll of Heaven and I won't hurt you."

Temari sneered at the blonde boy.  "What makes you think that you could hurt me?"

He sighed.  He had warned her.  Once he got her fan away from her she would be unable to continue fighting.

Neji was paying no attention to what was going on around him, he had more pressing issues to deal with.  The Uchiha boy turned out to be more of a pain in the ass than he had previously thought.  He had obviously been trained well after he had been dragged back to Konoha, a mission Neji was beginning to regret having been a part of.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Sasuke questioned.  "Use your fire spells?"

His opponent didn't reply to his taunt, he just launched himself at the other boy.

Sasuke met Neji in the air, exchanging frenzied blows before springing apart and landing uninjured on the ground.  Well, not completely uninjured, Neji's kunai had managed to dig a nasty cut under his right eye.  Sasuke lifted a hand to his cheek to assess the damages.  The jagged line started about a centimeter below and to the right of his eye and traveled down near his mouth.

Neji snorted at the stunned look on Sasuke's face.  "What's the matter?  Worried that the girls won't like your face so much now?"

Sasuke's bloody hand fell slowly to his side.  "I don't care about what those stupid girls think of me.  Be happy you managed to scrape me, because you won't come close again."

"You thought you were fast enough to avoid my attacks, and now you're scared because I hurt you."

Sasuke slipped back into his fighting pose.  "Even the best laid plans…" He charged the boy and delivered a swift kick at his ribs that was expertly blocked.

Neji locked his hand around Sasuke's ankle.  "If you're going to double your efforts then I will as well." He twisted Sasuke's foot hard to left, relishing the sound it made as the joint cracked.  He then used the appendage to throw the boy back a few feet.

Sasuke groaned as he gingerly shifted the weight to his injured foot.

"We're about even now, aren't we?"

"Even this way, I'm still faster than you."

Neji sensed a presence behind him.  No, not behind him, behind TenTen.  He opened his mouth to shout a warning to the blinded girl, but he was too late.  There was a shrill female cry and then his vision went black.  Before his mind could even control his body he was beside TenTen, his left arm restraining her attacker, his right arm holding a kunai to the girl's head.  When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy with that unpredictable emotion known as anger.  "Leave us."

"Not before we take your Scroll of Heaven." Sasuke protested.

"Get out of my sight before I kill your teammate!"

Naruto tore his eyes off of Temari to look to where Neji was standing, choking the life out of Sakura.  "Let her go!"

"You're in no position to argue with me!" Neji countered.

"Don't hurt Sakura-chan!"

"She should've thought about that before she hurt TenTen."

Convinced by the way Neji was twisting his body in the direction of the sounds, Sasuke guessed that the boy was back to being blind.  He crept up on him from the side.

Neji pressed the blade into Sakura's flesh, drawing a small drop of blood.  "This girl will bleed a lot more than this if you continue to try to attack me Sasuke.  I'm suddenly feeling very much like shedding blood.  If you want, I can kill her and then you."

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.  "Don't be stupid!" The crazed look in his blue eyes said plainly that he wouldn't forgive the other boy if Sakura was killed over this.  "There are tons of teams with Scrolls of Heaven that haven't finished yet.  We can steal one of theirs."

Sasuke relented.  "Alright Hyuuga, what do you want us to do so you release our teammate to us safely?"

"Retreat." Neji replied.  "My teammate is on the verge of death and she needs immediate care.  I want you to leave at least a mile and I will let Sakura go in five minutes."

Naruto nodded at Sasuke.  "We'll do it."

Neji heard shuffling and retreating steps as the two boys made good on their promise.  Almost instantly he shoved the girl away from him in disgust.  **"GO!" He snarled.**

Sakura didn't protest, she scrambled to her feet and ran.  Plunging her kunai into TenTen's neck had been an act of total fear.  She didn't know what was wrong with the two genin, but she knew that they would kill Sasuke if they had to and that scared her straight to the core, so she had done the only thing she could think of to stop them, stopped TenTen.

Neji fell to his knees in the grass, ignoring the tossing of his stomach and felt along TenTen for the wound.  At the point where her shoulder met her neck his fingers passed into a pool of blood.  His fingers trembling, he tore a long strip off of his shirt and wrapped it gently around her wound.  He caught the ends and tied them as tightly as he could.  He then lifted the girl from the ground.  "Lead me to the tower Temari."

The older girl collected TenTen's discarded weapons and then put a hand on her teammate's shoulder and guided him the few hundred feet it took to get into the tower.  Once they were inside and below the sign she opened the two scrolls, hoping to get some sort of assistance.

Her prayers were answered in the form of Hagane Kotetsu.  "Congratulations." He didn't sound happy.  "You have passed this part of the Chuunin exam." His brown eyes darkened as they fell on the unmoving body of his sister safely nestled in Neji's arms.  "What happened to her?"

"Team seven happened.  While I was using her eyes, Haruno Sakura snuck up on her and stabbed her in the neck."

Kotetsu took his sister from Neji.  "I'm sorry, but you won't be able to participate in the next part of the exam."

**"WHAT?" Neji looked as though he was about to explode.**

"If your teammate is unable to participate, let alone walk, your team will be disqualified.  All three members have to make it through the exam safe."

"That's bullshit!"

"It's a rule.  I hate it as much as you do."

"You're a damned liar.  You're just happy I won't be able to fight."

TenTen stirred in her brother's arms.  "I'm okay Kotetsu.  I'll just need to rest a little and I'll be ready for the preliminaries.  There are still two days left."

A grave look on his face, Kotetsu lifted the hem of her shirt and showed her the purplish-blue bruises on her side.  "I'm afraid it won't be that simple.  You're bleeding internally.  You'll need immediate medical attention, and the doctors will advise that you do not take part in the rest of the exam."

"No." TenTen shook her head.  "Don't disqualify them, please.  It's not their fault I got hurt."

Kotetsu glared at Neji.  "You're right.  It's not their fault, it's Neji's alone.  You entered the exam against my best wishes because you knew he wanted to be a Chuunin and you wanted to make him happy.  Be selfish for once TenTen."

She feebly grabbed at his chest.  "Talk to Godaime, to father, to anyone, don't let them disqualify my team because of me." With that she slumped in his arms, falling unconscious once more.

Kotetsu turned around.  "Follow me to the medics."

Neji followed along in silence.  This time Kotetsu was not merely releasing his frustrations on him.  It really was his fault that TenTen was hurt.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

A/N: Neji begins to show his feelings more obviously in this chapter thanks to the return of two familiar faces.  I know this is going to sound pathetic, but if you're reading this, I'd really like it if you review or email me and let me know you're reading, cause I have no idea how many people are reading other than those who review, and it makes me feel sad when no one reviews.  To the three people who reviewed the last chapter, I love you and this chapter is dedicated wholly to you.

Kotetsu examined his future brother-in-law from behind the glass in the hospital room.  He seemed to be in shock and just sat at TenTen's side staring into space.

"You feel sorry for him, don't you?" Izumo's voice.

Kotetsu snorted.  "That kid deserves whatever he gets."

"You don't have to play the role of overprotective older brother anymore.  Neji's a good kid, and he wants to protect your sister.  Why else would he be here with her instead of training?"

"Because he feels guilty." He replied.  "And because he's been disqualified."

"The old Hyuuga Neji would have been training regardless of being disqualified.  He's a different kid now.  A better one." He rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.  "You can't tell me that you haven't noticed."

"He's not the only one who's changed since that day."

"I wanted to talk to you about that."  Izumo sighed.  "It's good that your sister's a bigger part of your life now, but you have to understand that she's had a lot of bad things happen to her in a very short period of time.  She's adjusting and moving on, but to her, you're becoming a smaller and smaller part of her life.  Maybe you need to move on too."

Neji hadn't meant to fall asleep.  He had every intention of sitting next to TenTen and holding her hand until she woke up, but his body had other ideas.

_He was sitting in a tree meditating when he heard her sneaking up to him.  By now he knew her approaching presence by heart, and even though he couldn't see her, he knew she was there._

_"Hey." She sounded shy, a tone she hadn't used with him since they first met._

_"Hi."_

_"I know you said you didn't want me to do anything special for today, but I just had to do this for you."_

_Now intrigued, Neji hopped down from the tree, landing in front of her._

_"I read somewhere once that dogs can be trained to help blind people out with their day to day activities, and Hinata told me that Kiba's parents' dogs just had a big litter, so I asked for one." She pressed a warm, wiggling creature into his arms.  "He told me that they didn't usually give their ninja dogs away, but this was a special case." She petted the dog on the head.  "If you want, I can help you train it."_

_Neji wanted to display his anger at what was an obvious act of sympathy towards him, but he couldn't.  He found that he was so touched by her action, by the fact that she was just always thinking about him, that he couldn't be angry at her.  He lifted the hand that wasn't carefully cradling the puppy and stretched it out towards her face.  His fingers awkwardly struck the tip of her nose, and she blushed.  He could feel the rising heat through his fingertips.  "Sorry." He lowered his hand to her cheek.  "I want to thank you.  It's a great birthday present."_

_"It's not every day that you turn fourteen." She replied.  "At least, with him with you I won't be so worried about you so much anymore."_

_"You don't have to worry about me TenTen.  I've told you that a million times.  I can take care of myself."_

_She sighed.  "I know, but I can't help it.  You're very important to me Neji, and I don't think I could take it if something happened to you."_

_The hand on her face found her lips and then he leaned closer and they kissed briefly.  "Thank you."_

Neji's eyes fluttered open.  That was the second strange dream he'd had since returning to Konoha.  They were as clear as memories, but it could not be possible for him to have memories of the future, and he was pretty sure the Phoenix was not capable of knowing the future, if it was it would have already found a way to break the seal that bound it to the Fire Clan.  The dreams were probably as much as he hated to admit it, his own hopes for the future.  Disrupting his thoughts, the door to the hospital room shook under the force of a loud knock.

"Who is it?"

"Gai!" The person shouted.

Neji groaned inwardly, he was blind, not deaf.  "Come in sensei." He heard the door swing open and heavy footsteps on the ground as the man entered.  On top of those he also heard a second pair of footsteps.  "Is Lee with you?"

"Hai." A second voice that was obviously Lee's replied.

"So the rumors are true." Gai remarked gruffly.  "You have lost your eyesight."

"So it would seem." Neji replied.

"Um…" Lee began, his voice sounding unusually timid.  "Is TenTen okay?"

"The doctors say she should be fine, but she hasn't woken up in the day since she fell into a coma."

Gai spoke next.  "Your team was disqualified from the Chuunin exam.  What will you do now?"

"What can we do?  The Kazekage wanted Chuunin, and we'll have to wait another six months before we get another chance, if we live that long.  Temari will return and tell them that we died, but we don't know how long her word alone will convince them."

"The charges against you in Konoha have been dropped and it's obvious that you didn't share any of the village's techniques with them.  You should be able to start over here."

Neji snorted.  "Do you really think they'll trust us?  If we stay here we'll be watched constantly."

"Then where do you plan to go?"

"If I tell you my plans wouldn't it be easy to have us followed?"

"Neji, you should trust Gai-sensei.  He cares about all of us."

"Does he really?  As a Jounin he should've known where we were being kept, why did he wait until now to come and see us?"

Lee jumped to the defense of his idol.  "Can you blame him?  How was he supposed to know if you guys were yourselves or not?"

"He could trust in the students he's taught for over a year." Neji turned his head away from their direction.  "But everyone forgot us the way we are and assumed we had changed into criminal monsters."

"I suppose you heard the news about the Shiratori brothers?" Gai finally said.

"That the Jounin allowed them to escape?" He replied.  "How could I not know?  They can run all they want though.  I promised TenTen that I would kill them and there's no way I would break my word to her."

"Killing them is not the answer.  They should be put on trial and tried fairly in front of everyone."

"So they can get tossed in jail?" Neji was beginning to get angry.  "Jail is not a fit punishment for rape.  You have no idea how much TenTen has suffered because of what they did.  You don't know how much I suffered."

"What does that have to do with you?"

Gai held a hand out in front of Lee to silence him.  They'd always had a grudging respect for each other's skills, but their rivalry could cause the conversation to descend into a shouting match.  "Neji has been by TenTen's side from the beginning, obviously he would've felt her pain."

He snorted.  "This has got nothing to do with her pain.  My blindness is as a direct result of what happened to her, and that has brought enough pain down on me to last a lifetime."

"From what I hear, you were the one who decided to make yourself more powerful by accepting her demons.  Anything that happened to you after that is your own fault." Gai's voice remained stern and reprimanding.

"The last thing I need is a lecture.  I've had enough from her brother." He motioned to the still girl.  "Apparently this is my fault as well, even though she wanted to be Chuunin as much as I did."

Gai sighed.  "You ever think that you're pushing her too much?  She'll do things she doesn't want to, just because you want her to."

"You don't think I know that?" Neji snapped.

"Then why do you keep pushing her?"

"Because it's good for her.   She doesn't have the same limits as everyone else.  She ought to learn that."

"And the more you push the more she ends up in the hospital.  Don't you think you should take a step or two back?"

A sudden rage flared up inside of Neji.  "Don't tell me how to treat her.  You don't know anything."

Gai rested a hand on his former pupil's shoulder.  "I know that you can't treat a woman the same way you would treat a man."

"How would you know how to treat a woman sensei?"

Gai found he couldn't respond.  The boy had struck a chord inside him.

"How dare you attack sensei like that?"

"Open your eyes." Neji snarled.  "Gai-sensei is terrified of us, that's why he never bothered looking for us, that's why he told you to stay away from us, and even now he's shaking in his boots.  Shiratori Ryoji and Shiratori Kenji had been arrested for killing their brother, but that doesn't change sensei's belief that TenTen and I are capable of murder.  We are ninjas after all."

Lee turned to the older man.  "Is that true sensei?"

"It's human nature to fear what you cannot understand." Gai clenched his fist.  "However…I want to understand you.  Neji, you are my student, and I will not lose faith in you.  Even if your family deserts you, you can count on me to stand by your side and support you."

In spite of himself, Neji found that he was smiling at his former teacher's enthusiasm.  "I would like that."

The hand on his shoulder tightened.  "I will plead with Tsunade-sama to allow you to continue on in the exam.  You have grown up a lot since the last exam and you deserve your chance to become a Chuunin."

"Thank you."

The hand lifted from his shoulder.  "Come Lee, we should go now."

"Um…sensei, if it's okay, could I stay with them a little longer?"

Gai smiled at his protégé.  "Very well.  I'll be waiting for you." He turned and left the room.

Lee stood with his hands in his pockets for a while before he worked up the courage to say anything.  He licked his lips twice and then spoke.  "Before I met you guys, I didn't have any friends.  Everyone made fun of me because I couldn't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." He smiled.  "You did too, but TenTen was the one who kept us from killing each other, or rather, you from killing me.  Thanks to her, we've almost become friends, or as close to friends as either of us are going to have." He sighed.  "It hurts me to see her like this, but it hurts me even more to see the way she hurts because of you."

Neji clenched his fists.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you do.  Any idiot can tell that TenTen likes you a lot, and after seeing the way you are with her, I know that deep down, you care about her too.  She would stop being so sad if you told her one day."

The white-eyed boy relaxed his hands.  "I will…tell her that is.  Now's not the right time.  She's not ready."

Lee smiled.  "People are always happy to find out that they're loved.  Sometimes it can bring them out of depression."

"Maybe that is so, but things have suddenly become very complicated for us." With his thumb he gently massaged the inside of her palm.  "When this exam is over, Godaime will suddenly have to make a lot of decisions concerning us.  Are we dangerous?  Do we mean to destroy Konoha?  Will I attack the main family for taking away my eyesight?  I don't even know the answers to those questions.  How can I convince everyone else to trust me if I don't trust myself?"

"I don't know what to say."

"TenTen believes in me no matter what I do.  She'll do anything to make sure I'm happy, and she'll sacrifice everything to make sure I'm not hurt.  No matter what I decide I know she'll follow me, but what if that's not what I want?"

"I don't understand…you like her, right?"

"Yeah, I like her, but if being around me and knowing me gets her hurt, then I don't want to be near her."

"TenTen is a ninja, she can handle herself.   Besides, the last thing she would want is for you to leave her side."

"Sometimes the right thing to do is the hardest thing to do, right?"

Lee looked worried.  "You aren't serious about leaving town without her, are you?"

He sighed.  "Is it a big deal if I am?"

"Would you really leave without telling her?  She'll hate you.  I'll hate you."

"I would come back.  We're only thirteen, we have our whole lives ahead of us."

"Can you really be sure you'd come back?  What if you liked your new life better than your new one?  Would you still remember any of us?  Would you still remember her?" He looked down at the peacefully sleeping girl.  "Do you really trust that she'll be safe without you?"

"You said that she could handle herself." Neji countered.

"That's not fair."

"If I decided to go, would you…would you watch her for me?"

"Neji…" Lee found that he couldn't respond.

"Would you?"

For some reason Neji's tone was heart-wrenching and coaxed Lee to reply.  "If it came down to that I would be happy to keep an eye out for my friend." He shook his head.  "But it shouldn't come down to that."

"It may."

"And I can't stop you?"

Neji felt frustrated.  "I hate being handicapped, especially around her."

"Tsunade-sama is very good at performing surgeries.  She'll fix your eyes good as new.  Then you won't have anything to worry about."

Neji sighed.  "Have you ever dreamed about the future Lee?"

"Once or twice."

"If my future is with her, what difference does it make if I spend a little time away from her in the present?"

"I don't know, but do you really want to leave her on top of everything else that's happened to her?  She cares about you Neji, and even though she's probably not showing it, she's broken inside.  If you left, it would probably kill her." He frowned at the thoughtful look on Neji's face.  "I should go." Without waiting for the other boy's response, he walked out of the room.

Neji hadn't meant to say those things, he really hadn't, but there was some part of him that felt he'd gotten a raw deal and that it would be best for him if he left.  Despite that, there was another part of him that didn't want to leave her side.  Which part would win out however, was left to be seen.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

A/N: ~Appears before the readers, contrite~ Ahh…sorry about begging you for reviews the last chapter, sometimes my ego just needs to be appeased.  It's not that big mind you, it just has to eat every now again.  As a result of your kind reviews, I give you this truly mushy chapter.  Well, the first half is mushy anyway.  Too much mush hurts my stomach.

TenTen could hear people moving around and talking in the darkness, but no matter how hard she tried her eyes refused to open.  She could feel a strange pressure on her hand and guessed it to be someone holding it.  The hand was too small to be her brother's and she doubted anyone else would come visit her, so it had to be Neji, but even if it was him why would he say such things?

"If I decided to go, would you…would you watch her for me?"

"Neji…" Another voice, Lee's.  

"Would you?"

How could he ask a question like that?  Well, she would set him straight.  He wasn't going anywhere.  She wouldn't let him.  She would, she would…no matter how much she concentrated her body still wouldn't respond.

"If it came down to that I would be happy to keep an eye out for my friend." 

No Lee, don't encourage him, she wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come.

"But it shouldn't come down to that." Lee continued.

"It may."

"And I can't stop you?"

She wanted to stop him more than anything.  She wanted to yell at the top of her lungs how much he meant to her, why she couldn't let him leave her behind.  She was so lost in her own thoughts, fighting with herself to wake up that the next part of the conversation was muffled.  The next thing she knew was that the door opened and closed and a sudden silence filled the hospital room.

She could sense his sadness and mental conflict and wanted more than anything else to be able to reach up and hold him.  She wanted to let him know that she was there for him, that she wouldn't let him go.

"I know you probably can't hear me." He was talking to her now.  "But I can't shake the feeling that somewhere in there you're aware.  What do you want to do now?  Some people want us to stay in Konoha, but that's only because they don't want us to fall into enemy hands.  I don't want my mother to be alone, but I don't want to be a helpless pawn.  I feel like the only way I can truly appreciate my destiny is to find it outside of Konoha.  I thought I'd be able to handle leaving you behind, but thanks to my greed for power, our destinies are intertwined now and even if I wanted to I couldn't leave you."

Well, she could take some relief in that admission.  The hand clutching hers tightened.

"I realize that I've been forcing you to do a lot of things that probably aren't good for you and I'm sorry.  My ambition sometimes rules my good sense." Her hand brushed against something warm and soft, and she could only guess that it was his lips.  "Temari's going to take care of everything for us in Sand Village.  Turns out we made life fun for her and she feels indebted to us."

The warmth left her hand and then she heard a chair scrape against the tiled floor.  "I know I haven't told you this, but you probably sensed my inner turmoil.  That was bad of me, I had hoped to hide my thoughts from you, and it seems I succeeded partially.  My handicap is a bigger problem for me than you realize.  I am unable to defeat even the weakest of opponents without your assistance.  I have never had to rely on you as deeply as I have to rely on you now, and I am slowly becoming used to it." She heard his footsteps echo through the room and then she felt a heavy pressure on the bed.  He must've been leaning on it.  "I took the pledge of your line frivolously before, only seeing it as a means to obtain more power.  But now, I swear to you that I will honor our engagement and become your husband once we come of age.  And I will give you as many children as you want, no matter what the Phoenix's will is." A weight pressed into her lap that she guessed to be his head.  "Even if it lives inside us, it does not rule our lives…only we can do that.  That is the lesson I have learned from Naruto."

Against her own will, TenTen could feel herself beginning to cry.  Neji really cared about her and he wanted to marry her.

Of course, Neji couldn't see the tears, but he could sense the change in her psyche.  She was even more aware now than she was before, perhaps on the verge of waking up.  He felt a shift on the bed and then suddenly her hands were moving, pulling his face from her lap up to meet hers.  Their foreheads touched and Neji could feel the wet tears on her cheeks.  "Are you crying?"

She smiled.  "Hai."

"What's wrong?" He sounded genuinely concerned.  "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No Neji.  I'm very happy, that's all." Her hands tangled into his hair and before he knew it, his lips were pressed against hers.  When he'd fantasized about kissing her it had never come close to this experience.  As much as he enjoyed the kiss, he was the one who pulled away. 

"I think we should stop here.  We'll have plenty of time to engage in such activities after we grow up."

TenTen sucked in a deep breath.  "I understand.  I'm sorry." She released her grip on his hair.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He slid onto the bed and sat next to her.  "So what do you think we should do?"

"We have nowhere to go.  Staying here is our only option.  The people here will protect us, simply because we were born…" A strange emotion clouded her brown eyes for a moment.  "…Grown up here."

Neji sighed.  "I'll go back to my mother's and I'll trust Kotetsu to take you home." He stood up and without looking back, exited the hospital room.

Kotetsu turned to face him.  "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home." He replied.  "We're not taking the Chuunin exam anymore, so we're no longer under your protection.  I want my mother to know I'm still alive."

Kotetsu motioned to his friend.  "Izumo, could you escort him back?"

Neji shrugged off the older man's hand.  "I can find my own way home."

"No offense Neji, but you're blind.  The chances that you would make it home safely after being unfamiliar with Konoha's surroundings for so long are one in a million."

He nodded and allowed the man to guide him out of the room.

Kotetsu sighed and entered his sister's room.  He picked up her clothes from where they were lying on a table and pressed them into her arms.  "Father and Tsunade-sama want to see you.  Get dressed." He turned his back as the girl changed clothes behind him.  

"I'm finished." She remarked a minute or so later.

"Then come on."

~~~

Tsunade looked up as the door to her office opened.  "Ahh, Kotetsu, TenTen it's good to see you again."

Both siblings bowed their heads slightly as they walked in.  Their father stood in a corner of the room, comfortable in the shadows.  "Tsuande-sama, you wanted to see me?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay.  Your injuries were very serious.  You had to have a blood transfusion right away and luckily your brother was there to donate as much blood as was needed."

Surprise washed over TenTen.  Kotetsu had saved her?  Why?

"The reason I called you here was to inform you of a new option.  Your father is willing to take you with him to their old village for you to find out more about your birth parents and the Phoenix itself."

TenTen was silent for a moment, but she knew what she had to say.  "I would like that very much, but I don't want to leave Konoha right now."

Tsunade smiled.  "You want to wait until Neji regains his sight."

The girl blushed.

"Believe me, I understand.  Just tell your father when you're ready to leave."

"Ano…" The girl wrung her hands out of nervousness.  "I know the examiners have disqualified us because I am unable to compete, but we do have until tomorrow, and it's not their fault that I was hurt, and they really want to become Chuunin.  Temari doesn't mention it, but she's really upset that she missed her chance the last time.   Neji probably won't bring it up to me, but I know he wants to prove himself."

The Fifth smiled at her.  "You're a good girl, aren't you?" She sensed that her statement embarrassed the girl and kept talking.  "However, when you were brought in and your brother and the doctors present declared you unfit to compete.  That part of the exam was a team effort and if the entire team does not return then we have no choice but to disqualify you, according to the rules."

"But they brought me with them!" She protested.

Tsunade shook her head.  "That's irrelevant.  Either all three pass or none at all, just like the written exam."

"We completed the objective!  The three of us together as a team!" TenTen was shaking and on the verge of tears.  "We deserve to compete, even if I can't."

The older woman sighed.  "You are not the first to come and plead with me.  Both Neji and Temari have spoken to me, as well as your father and your brother, and of all people Gai.  I would like very much to override the rules, but it would be best right now for all of us if you remained incognito.  Besides, as you are unable to compete you will not be permitted to view the proceedings and as a result of that, Neji will also find himself unable to compete, so it is easier this way.  Temari is a patient and resilient girl.  She will return at the next exam, ready to compete."

TenTen groaned, defeated.  She had thought that there was some sort of agenda against them, but the decision had been made in their best interest.  

"However, I have come up with a compromise.  If you are to aim for next year's Chuunin exam then you will need a qualified teacher to assist you with your training.  I have discussed this matter with your father and we have reached a decision that is in both yours and Neji's best interests.  I will re-entrust you to Gai's care.  Despite his unorthodox methods, he seemed to have fulfilled a sort of father-type role in all of your lives."

The smile lit up the girl's face again.  She was looking forward to being reunited with Rock Lee.  "Thank you Tsunade-sama."

"You're welcome." The Hokage nodded at the door.  "You're welcome to leave now."

Now with her spirits significantly lifted, the girl walked out of the door.

"Are we going to ignore her crime?"

"We ignored Uchiha Sasuke's.  Are we going to treat a child any differently because of the family she was born into?"

"Sasuke is important to this village."

"And she is important to you." She countered.  "If she weren't you wouldn't have donated your blood.  After all, why would you keep a criminal alive just so she could go to jail?  A dishonorable death is the ultimate punishment after all." She picked up a thick folder on her desk and began to shuffle through the papers.  "Just in case something happens, escort your sister home."

He bowed.  "Yes ma'am."

Mr. Hagane relaxed more noticeably at the departure of his children.

"From the top Hagane-san.  Tell me everything you know about the Fire Clan."

The big man sighed.  "Is it okay if I sit?  It's a long story."

"Very well." She motioned to a chair.

He dragged the chair back into the shadows and sat down on it.  "No one, not even the historians of the Fire Clan are sure what about them is truth and what is no more than myth" He folded his hands across his chest.  "The Phoenix has lived in that clan for longer than the village of Konoha has existed.  How a bird of such majesty ended up trapped in the body of the first member of the Fire Clan is still a mystery but the most common story is that the Phoenix was outsmarted and he owed the man a single wish.  Instead of asking for things that others had before him, like wealth, beautiful women or longevity, he asked for the Phoenix to protect him and his family forever.  Ever since that day no man anywhere on earth has ever seen the Phoenix in the wild again.  Over the years the Phoenix became resentful of the deal he had made, but the seal the man used to bind the two of them together was so strong that despite his power, the Phoenix couldn't free itself.  He destroyed the paper the seal was written on, but back then, the written word wasn't what the villagers depended on to pass down techniques."

"You think that if you can find whatever village this man was originally from then you could find out how to unbind the Phoenix?"

"That's the problem." He replied.  "I'm confident that the people that I've interviewed know more than they're telling, but they won't say anything to me.  Perhaps if they were able to see people who are tortured with the symbiosis to the phoenix then they would be more willing to talk."

"You want to send Neji and TenTen on a wild goose chase?"

"It won't be in vain, I promise."

"Don't you think the council will be indisposed at the thought of the loss of such a great power?"

"As far as everyone is concerned, the Fire Clan died out one hundred years ago.  Why not prove them right?"

"Give me the list of countries you went to."

He reached into his jacket and handed her a worn book.  "This is my wife's mission journal.  She kept immaculate records of everything that happened.  If they question all the same people we did it's likely that they'll come across the truth."

Tsunade flipped through the book, making a mental note to read it later.  "I'll contact Gai and prepare them to be sent out within the month when everyone is completely focused on the third part of the Chuunin exam.  That should allow them to slip out unnoticed."

"What about the boy's surgery?"

"It's his choice whether he wants it or not."

He stood.  "Thank you."

"Just one question."

"Anything."

"How did your wife really die?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded.

"She was murdered because she asked too many questions."

"And you're confident that your daughter and the others won't meet the same fate?"

"Not as long as they stay smart."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

_Five months, three days_

_I recently purchased this book at Hokuto-san's bookstore.  I've had the idea to make a record of my daughter's life ever since she entered our lives and now I have the chance.  Just looking down at her in her crib warms my heart completely.  Maybe that warm feeling was a side effect of the spirit that dwelled within her, but I choose to believe that she is going to grow up to be a sweet and good-natured young woman.  Oh, I must put this down, it seems our sweet TenTen is hungry._

_Ten months, two weeks, one day_

_It's been ages since I wrote anything interesting, as babies decide upon their routine once they come into our lives and insist on disrupting it at every turn after that. Well, today something truly special happened.  My angel took her first steps.  I had just finished preparing breakfast for her and was taking it to the table, but when I turned around my precious daughter was standing on her own two feet, reaching towards me to accept the food.  I'm so proud of her, I can't wait to tell her father and brother._

_Sixteen months_

_Kotetsu graduated from the ninja academy today, and I don't know how she does it, but I sense that TenTen understands everything that happens with him and is happy for her big brother.  The two of them are so wonderful together.  She completely adores him and he adores her in return.  I hope that nothing ever comes between the two of them and that he will continue to look after her the way he does._

_P.S. TenTen said her first word today.  It is fairly early for her first intelligible words, but that wasn't what was so strange about it.  I had expected the word to be mama, or papa, or even niisan, but her first word had been, 'Fire', a sad reminder of what her destiny would be.  Never mind that the fireplace had to be lit every night now that winter was approaching, or that Kotetsu had been preaching that word for her the past few days.  It still scared me and my husband to hear that word coming from her lips._

_Three years, nine months, fourteen days_

_Today was terrifying for all of us.  Today, TenTen showed the first signs that she was indeed the last of the Fire Clan and that she held the spirit of the legendary __Phoenix__ inside of her.  We'd always suspected as much, but there had been no way to be sure as there are no visible seals on her body.  As much as her father and I hate to admit it, she does indeed have a malevolent spirit inside of her and is a danger to us and her brother.  She manipulated the fire that was warming the house and burned him quite badly.  He survived, but not without catching a severe case of the cold after flinging himself into the snow outside._

_Five years, six months_

_Today I took TenTen to school for the first time.  Her teacher nodded warily at the sight of her, having heard the truth about her from our Hokage.  She was sealed, I told him in private, and that she wouldn't hurt him or any of the children.  He seemed to believe me and steered her towards a group of children towards the middle of the class.  She seemed happy when I came to pick her up after school.  I could listen to her speak so cheerfully for hours.  She adored her new sensei, and had already been accepted by some of the students there.  My little girl was so sweet and caring, she could win over anybody's heart after only a short time with them._

_Twelve years, three months_

_I recently rediscovered this book lying around in one of my trunks.  I had perhaps intended to lock it away, but now that I had found it, I couldn't put it away.  I read through all of my previous entries, relishing the memories they induced.  I remembered when she was nine years old and she'd come running to me and told me how she thought one of her classmates was amazing.  His name had been Hyuuga Neji, and I found it somewhat humorous that she'd been assigned to the boy she idolized.  You see, today was the day after my little girl became a ninja and she had just come home to tell me all about her new teammates and sensei.  Gai had been chosen to lead her team, he was a bit eccentric and could do to tone down his excitement, but otherwise he was a good ninja and would be an excellent teacher for them. Until they became Chuunin, he would have just as big of a role in their lives as their own parents would, and I trusted him to take care of my daughter._

_Twelve years, three months, four days_

_My husband and I had been expected the summoning from Sandaime for days now.  Ever since our daughter graduated we knew he would seek out a way to release the __Phoenix__ once and for all. We only had a day to prepare for the trip and I fear that I may have left TenTen behind on bad terms, a truly sad moment, for I truly do cherish my daughter and I am afraid that I will never see again.  For the first time in years I saw her cry and she clung to my jacket even as I left the house, begging me to stay with her.  All I could do was smile sadly, look into those beautiful brown eyes and tell her that her brother would do his best to take care of her now, and that she had to obey him no matter what.  As soon as Kotetsu closed the door, sealing that precious girl away from me, I knew I would regret leaving her behind.  We had been close and had the sort of relationship I had dreamed of having with my mother.  She told me everything and I shared with her as much as I could.  I was somehow never able to tell her that she was a monster, because even today, twelve years after I learned the truth, I could not stand to believe it myself.  That's why I wanted to make this journey, to learn the secret of the __Phoenix__, so that she would never have to suffer the pain that it would surely bring to her._

_July 13th _

_This is no longer a journal to record my interactions with my daughter, as I will probably not see her again for a very long time.  My husband has suggested that I use this as a log of our travels so that our children will understand why we had to leave them so early in life.  We are still wandering our own country, as the Fire Clan did originate in this territory hundreds of years ago.  We have asked questions of all the villagers here for a twenty mile-radius, but no one even the eldest of the residents seems to have any information concerning our mission.  My husband believes that they know exactly what we ask, but are withholding information from us out of contempt, but we have yet to find a reason why they would do such a thing.  Did they somehow tie us to the __Phoenix__?  Did their village have a run-in with the unleashed creature a long time ago?  Is that why they were afraid to speak its name?_

TenTen stopped reading her mother's handwriting, pain etched on her features.  "Can I stop reading?" Her mother had left her over a year ago and now she was dead, all because of her, and her brother loved her less because of it.

"Yes." Gai stood up and stretched.  "You three may rest for a while, we'll soon come upon that village."

"She never mentioned a name sensei." Lee reminded him.  "How can you be sure that this village is the same?"

"Hagane-san told me." With that Gai disappeared into the bushes, perhaps to scout ahead for enemies.

Lee stretched out beside the fire.  "Are you okay TenTen?"

She nodded absently.  "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but Neji butt in before she could reply.  "She said she was fine Lee, do you have to harass her?"

Lee frowned.  "I just wanted to make sure."

"He wasn't harassing me Neji.  It's okay that he wonders about me."

He turned to face her voice.  He had agreed to have Tsunade perform the surgery and it had taken nearly five hours to complete.  His eyes had been wound tight with bandages and he had been warned sternly not to take them off for at least two weeks.  It had been two days and he was incredibly anxious to find out if his eyes would be able to work.  His left hand was almost completely numb and most of the time hung limply at his side, although occasionally some feeling returned to it, but only to remind him of his injuries.  "Why aren't you honest with us?" He questioned.  "Reading that journal only makes you miss your mother more."

"My mother's dead." TenTen replied coldly.  "My feelings will not change that fact."

"TenTen…" Lee's voice trailed off at the determined look on her face.  

"We should go to sleep.  Gathering information will probably be difficult tomorrow morning." She tucked the journal into her backpack and climbed into her sleeping bag.  "Goodnight."

The boys murmured goodnight in exchange, and several hours later the fire was out and the entire camp was sleeping softly, except one person.  Ever since he had been blinded, TenTen found herself wondering if he actually slept.  Some days he seemed lethargic, as if he had to force himself to do the simplest of daily activities.  Her mind made up, she turned in her sleeping bag to face him.  Those horrible bandages covered most of his face, hiding his beautiful features from her.  Boldly, she lifted her hand from where it was pinned in the sleeping bag and used it to trace his outline.

"What are you doing?" He mumbled.

"Do you ever sleep?" She questioned.

"Of course I do."

"I've never seen you sleep."

"That's because I wait for you to go before I try to fall asleep."

"Oh."

"Are you worried?"

"This is the mission that took my mother's life." She whispered.  "Why shouldn't I be worried?"

"Because I don't like it when you worry." His lips parted like he was about to say something else, but a sudden wind blew by, leaving his mouth flapping open dumbly.

"What's wrong Neji?"

"Don't tell me you didn't sense it too?" He questioned harshly.

She nodded.  She had felt dangerously high chakra rising from a few miles away, heading directly towards them.

"Get behind me." Suddenly Gai was awake and motioning for the teens to slip into the forest.

Climbing out of her sleeping bag quickly, TenTen took Neji's hand and dragged him out of his bag.  "That wasn't necessary." He muttered.

"I don't care."

The three genin watched as their sensei stood in the clearing, waiting, watching, for whatever it was that had been haunting them.  A single teenage boy emerged, a sinister smile on his face.  "You're lucky." He replied.  "I'm not here to hurt you."

Both TenTen and Neji felt something stir in their chests as soon as he spoke.  There was an odd familiarity about him.  The strange feeling flared into a painful passion.  Both of them knew this boy and could sense that he knew them as well.

The hair sticking out above his forehead protector was flaming red and stuck out even in the thick dark night.  His ice blue eyes pierced the darkness and he seemed to isolate TenTen and Neji from the rest of the team.  "Who are you two?"

The Phoenix flashed an image before their eyelids.  That of a three-year-old redheaded boy crying as he watched his mother's eyes close and one of the planks fell from the roof, pinning his older sister beneath it.  From the sound it made, he could tell that she had died on contact.  Terrified for his life, he'd turned and ran as fast as he could from the burning village.

TenTen emerged from where she was hiding, unable to tear her eyes away from the older boy.  "I can't believe it.  Kojiro?"

A/N: You may not remember this, but Kojiro is a very important name.  Check out chapter 3 if you need a reminder.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

A/N: ~breaks down in tears~ I have three exams Thursday and Friday and then I'm going home for Christmas break, so the chance that I'll be updating is very slim, but you can bet I'll be scribbling away in my little notebook while everyone else is rife with Christmas cheer. ~still a little miffed about the giant hole under Neji's arm in chapter 196, but will get over it~ See you guys whenever I see you.

Kojiro sat in front of the fire, his arms folded across his chest. He stared directly into the flames watching as they danced and swayed with the wind. Without turning to look at any of the ninjas in his presence he spoke. "So, who are you? And how do you know my name?"

TenTen opened her mouth to say something, but Gai's stern voice silenced her. "I think we're the ones with the authority to be asking questions. What's a ninja from the Hidden Mist village doing wandering around Konoha's territories?"

"I have diplomatic passes if that's what you're worried about."

"You haven't answered my question."

The boy shifted from his cross-legged position. "I'm an orphan. My ancestors are from your village, so I wanted to see if I could learn anything about them."

TenTen wanted badly to blurt out to him that he was her brother, but the comforting feel of Neji's hand on her knee kept her silent.

"What family are you looking for?" Gai questioned. "Perhaps we can help you."

He sighed. "Konoha can't do much for me. I know all traces of our clan left your village a century ago. I just want to walk around a bit and see what they felt."

'_Don't think about it.' _Neji warned the girl mentally._ 'If you do, then he'll know. It gives him the same link to us that we have to each other.'_

_'I wasn't thinking about it.'_ She insisted, knowing that the truth was exactly the opposite, but he had a point. They knew nothing about this boy or how he was raised. He might turn out to be a cold-hearted killer who wouldn't think twice of killing the four of them, especially since he had not been sealed his entire life. He could be very dangerous.

"You still haven't answered my question." He remarked. "How does the girl know my name?"

She had to select her words carefully, building her lie with expertise. "You're a Chuunin, aren't you?"

"Three years ago I came to Konoha to take the exam."

"I met you then. You probably don't remember me as we barely crossed paths, but I heard later from my brother what you had done to your opponents."

He smiled into the fire. "That was fun."

"Shouldn't you have an escort?"

"I may be fifteen, but I am Chuunin. I don't require an escort. The Mizukage has already informed your Hokage of my desire to visit your country and she has granted me free passage as well as a place to stay while I'm in town." His smile widened, resembling the toothy mug of a tiger.

Gai must've felt his subordinates' fear. "If what you say is true then we have no reason to keep you here. Continue with your journey."

He stood. "Ahh…perhaps I'll see you when you return to Konoha."

"Perhaps."

The boy turned and walked away, disappearing into the thick underbrush of the forest.

"Why did you stop me from saying anything to him?" TenTen questioned.

Gai sat cross-legged on the floor facing the three teens. "Couldn't you sense his aura? That boy is a lot stronger than either of you and his thought patterns are unpredictable." 

Neji picked up where Gai left off. "You saw the way he reacted when you mentioned how many people he killed. I managed to probe into his head. He's been driven insane by the Phoenix. Maybe he was your brother once, but right now he's been reduced to a reckless killer. I hope Godaime knew what she was doing when she invited him to come to Konoha."

TenTen stood to her feet. "Suppose he knows something!" She shouted. "What if Father taught him about the history of our clan before he died?"

"He would've been three TenTen." Neji once again was the voice of reason. "He probably doesn't remember anything about his old life. Why else would he be returning to Konoha?"

"Gai-sensei…" Lee spoke for the first time since Kojiro had shown up. "Is it okay to just let Kojiro go to Konoha? I mean, what if he tries something?"

Gai's features settled from a scowl to a smile. "ANBU members have been following him ever since he left the Hidden Mist village. Don't worry, they won't permit him to try anything rash." He dug his hands into the dirt around him and scooped up two handfuls of sand. He stood up and poured the sand into the fire, dousing it. He then started shuffling towards them. "Come on, we should head towards the next village, get our mission started as soon as possible."

Lee pointed behind him. "Sensei, the fire isn't out."

In fact, the fire roared even higher than it had before, and from the center of the dancing blaze there crouched a figure who was seemingly made from the flames. "Did you really think I would just let you go?"

Gai shifted into a fighting stance, standing protectively in front of his three students. "What do you think you're doing?"

"The ANBU members that your village sent to tail me have been led on a wild-goose chase by a very believable double. Did you really think that I would only seek answers from the village that expelled my people and then sent assassins after them to whittle down our numbers?" Kojiro's blue eyes locked with TenTen's brown ones. "You didn't even have to tell me for me to know you were my sister. Even without the Phoenix, I could never forget my mother's eyes." He snorted. "How could I, when they haunt me every night in my dreams? Taunting me, begging me to save her, telling me to kill her demon child." He clenched his fist. "Father didn't tell her about the Phoenix. Going in to the marriage she had know idea of the suffering she would have to go through trying to contain the spirit. It taunted her, teased her, telling her that if she went through with her pregnancy that the child would kill her. She was trying to induce an abortion the night you were born. The night she died she grabbed my wrist and told me to crush your skull so you wouldn't have to live with the curse like I would." He sneered. "Of course, even though it was my mother's wish, I was three years old and I was still terrified at the idea of death." He glared at her, the hate in his eyes causing something in her chest to twist painfully. "Aren't you glad I spared your life?"

TenTen wanted to reply, but before she could, she heard a growl coming from her side. "How can you call yourself her brother? You're worse than the one she already has!" His lips curved back even further from his teeth, setting in a snarl. "Why do you both hate her so much?"

"Hate her?" Kojiro laughed. "I want to free her." He shook his head in disbelief. "The only freedom from the Phoenix is to die. Once the entire Fire Clan is dead, then the Phoenix will finally be free." He reached into the fire, twisting it into the form of a katana. "I'm going to carry out my mother's wishes and end our cursed line once and for all." Brushing past Gai, he charged his helpless sister, who could only throw her hands up to cover her face.

But instead of his flaming sword carving through flesh, it rung loudly against iron. Both Lee and Neji had jumped in front of the blow, kunai at the ready.

"I'm sorry, but you won't be hurting TenTen while we're around." Lee stated boldly.

Kojiro eyed the bandages around Neji's eyes and the subtle limp Lee moved with. "Do you really think a cripple and a blind boy will be a match for me?" He frowned when neither of them made an attempt to back down. "Why would you want to throw away your lives for her?"

"She's my friend." Lee protested. "I'd never let anything happen to her."

"You." Kojiro addressed Neji. "Why are you on her side?"

"You don't even have to ask." His voice sounded gravely serious. "You know."

"Her fiancé." Kojiro gritted his teeth and swung at the boys again. Neji blocked the blow and Lee managed to knock the sword free from his grasp. Weaponless and vulnerable, Kojiro did the last thing anyone would've expected from him. He threw his head back and laughed. "You don't know anything." He pointed at Lee. "You protect her, but if you don't strike first, she's going to kill you someday." He grabbed his sides to slow down his shaking. "That's the curse of the Phoenix. Everyone that you love dies at your own hands."

"What's the real reason why you're going to Konoha?" Gai questioned.

"The Mizukage wants nothing to do with me. He had me arrested five days ago, after my fiancée's mother suddenly disappeared. So he's sending me to Konoha in hopes that they'll discipline me." He grinned. "They'll lock me up in the basement like the bastard son that our clan is and then they'll execute me privately." He chuckled a bit when Lee's kunai pressed closer against his neck. "I suppose I deserve it, being a cold-blooded killer and all." He leaned against the blade and leered at the green-clad ninja. "Go ahead if you've got the balls. Kill me."

"Don't!" TenTen shouted, her fists clenched in anger. "Don't you get it? He wants to die, but he's too much of a coward to do it himself."

"But the world would be much better if I was stolen from it." He protested. "Not to mention the fact that the Phoenix essence that I have within me would go into you and your little boyfriend."

"Do you honestly think I care about that power?" The girl countered. "I want my brother. I want both of my brothers to see me as a person and not as a tool, as some vessel for power."

The look on Kojiro's crazed features softened for a brief moment and then hardened back into his cold stare. When he spoke again, this time his voice wasn't laced with anger or hatred. "I've told you already. You can't break free of the Phoenix, no matter how much you try. As long as you're alive it'll be with you, and when you finally die that's when it'll be gone." He grinned at Lee. "So go ahead. Kill me."

The boy glanced back at his friend and then sheathed his kunai. "Do it yourself."

Gai's hand closed around the boy's elbow. "If you won't go to Konoha of your own volition, I'll be your escort."

"Gai-sensei!" The three teens protested.

"You three are ninjas, I trust you to make it to the village on your own." He smiled and gave them a thumb's up. "Don't worry, Kojiro doesn't even have a chance against your great sensei." With that the boy was jerked away from his sister and dragged out of the forest towards Konoha.

After they left the ninja team stood there for a while in silence, not speaking, but each of them knowing that the others were rehashing the events that had just occurred. Lee was the one who broke the silence eventually. In the distance he could see the tiny orange-red hues of the sky beginning to light up as the day approached. "We should get going." He turned to TenTen. "Don't believe the stuff he was telling you, even I could tell he was insane."

The girl's eyes looked distant. "Insane or not Lee, that doesn't change that he was telling the truth."

Neji's hand rested on her shoulder. "Whatever your fate is, it's my fate as well. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She shrugged off his hand. "No it's not Neji. It's about time I realized that I was the one born into this family, and that it's my cross to bear."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A/N: Merry Belated Christmas, and Boxing Day, and here's to hoping you have a Happy New Year

Neji was not surprised.  The people that lived in this small village had refused nearly their every request, and would not even grant them the privilege of seeing their mayor.  Of course, he was not one foolish enough to expect a close-knit village like this one to open up to total strangers.

"Did your father really think that we'd accomplish anything here?" He questioned.  "These people won't even give us directions."

"Maybe we'll just have to look some more ourselves." Lee remarked.  "There are lots of villages on the list."

"If her parents were searching for over a year and never found the answer, what makes you think we can find it in a couple of days?"

"I never said it would be that easy."

Neji sat down on the bed.  They'd managed to get a hotel room to spend the night in, but that was the most response they'd gotten from the town.  Not even the hotel manager, who they were paying, would answer their questions about the Fire clan.

"Maybe if you tell them who you are?" Lee offered.

"These people are afraid of Konoha's ninjas and the Fire Clan for a reason.  Telling them we're possessed by the Phoenix will only get us kicked out of this village."

"You heard what Kojiro said.  His family was hunted by ninjas.  Maybe they're protecting the legend of the Fire Clan because of that." Lee glanced at TenTen.  "What do you think?"

"Hmm?" The girl appeared to be lost in thought.  "What do I think about what?"

"Lee has the theory that the villagers are protecting the Fire Clan and if we tell them why we need the information then they'll readily help us."

"We don't tell them."

"Why not?"

"If what Kojiro says is true, then there's even less reason to trust random people with that knowledge."

Lee sighed loudly.  "Fine.  I'm going for a walk." He exited the room, leaving the other two sitting there in silence.

Neji got up from the bed and walked over to the window.  "Don't think about it."

"Why shouldn't I Neji?" She questioned.  "You know you're thinking the same thing."

"That we don't have a future?  That we'll go insane and then die young like Kojiro will?"

"So you do think about it?"

"Yes, but I don't believe it.  Not like you're starting to." He replied.  "There are many other destinies for us to believe in."

She smiled weakly.  "That doesn't sound like the Neji I know."

"And pessimism doesn't suit you." He countered.  "So we're even."

She shivered unconsciously, changing the subject.  "When do you think Gai-sensei will come back?"

"I don't know."

"How will we find out about the seal then?  We can't tell them who we are, and if we don't, they won't give us any information."

Neji sighed.  "I have no idea."

"If you and I are the last of the Fire Clan I don't want to give anyone the chance to kill us before we can break free."

"Teach me the seal."

"What seal?"

"The one your parents used on you.  We can repress the phoenix until we find a way to get rid of it."

She shook her head.  "And make ourselves easy targets for people like Kojiro?"

"We can live a lot longer if we do this.  Long enough to find the truth."

She sighed.  "Don't make me do this."

"You're letting the Phoenix's threats get to you, just like before.  This is the only way I can help you."

"We've both grown up a lot haven't we?"

Neji didn't see where she was coming from.

"In the past few months.  Ever since I was raped.  So much has happened in such a short period of time."

"I'll get them for you."

"You don't have to." She spoke softly.

"I don't want them to hurt anyone else and as long as they're out there what they did is going to hurt you."

"It doesn't make a difference if those bastards are dead or alive Neji.  This is going to be with me for the rest of my life." She opened her mouth to continue, but a heavy stream of light dispelled the darkness in the bedroom.  She looked towards the door.  "Gai-sensei!"

The green clad man smiled widely.  "I didn't send you on ahead for you to mope in this room on such a glorious day!  Get up!  In your springtime of youth you should be outside enjoying the natural beauty and fresh air of this town!  Get Lee, we're going to train!"

'_That's not Gai-sensei.'_

TenTen's whole body went rigid at Neji's thought, but she had sensed it too the moment the imposter had walked in the door.  The imitation was nearly flawless, but the Phoenix's presence was unmistakable.  It brought warmth and comfort, but behind that it also induced great fear.  It was a terrible creature, wise and ancient, but crafty and bitter.  She didn't want to face an opponent who possessed the same cursed power as she did.

_'I'll take him on.'_

_'No.  He's my brother and my responsibility.'_

"You're braver than I thought." The illusion of Gai disappeared, leaving Kojiro standing in front of the two genin, the wicked smile adorning his features.

"Where's Gai-sensei?"

"Don't worry.  I didn't kill your precious sensei.  More than likely he's on his way here, but he'll have a hard time avoiding my traps."

It took all of TenTen's restraint not to hurl herself at the older boy.  "Did you do it?"

"I didn't kill my future mother-in-law."

"Then why are you giving yourself up?"

"I'm going to make Konoha pay."

"By yourself?"

"Once I kill you and your boyfriend and absorb the Phoenix's full power I'll be more than enough to destroy your stupid little ninja village."

Neji spoke up.  "Is this the Mizukage's plan?"

He shook his head.  "He granted his approval though.  I'm to greet the Hokage on his behalf."

TenTen clenched her hands into fists.  "I can't let you do that.  NO matter what they did back then I was raised as a resident of Konoha.  I chose to be a ninja and I'll defend my village with my life."

"Dear sister, you've got no family pride."

"You don't deserve to be my brother."

Neji stepped in front of his teammate.  "I can't let you do this."

She growled at him.  "Don't get in my way Neji.  I don't fight your battles.  Don't fight mine."

His shoulders sagged and he stepped aside.  The girl was determined.  He lifted his head and smiled in Kojiro's direction.  "You won't beat her."

"Give up sister.  You don't even have an inkling of how much power lies dormant inside you, but I'll teach you.  It'll be the last person you ever learn!" At his last word his hair seemed to come to life.  It stood straight up and grew even longer.  She couldn't pinpoint his intentions at first, but then it became painfully clear when an errant strand touched the curtain and the cloth went up in flames.  It wasn't his hair that thrashed about in the wind, he had set his head on fire.

"I bet you don't even know that you're not human anymore.  You don't have an identity dear sister.  You're just the Phoenix's fire in human skin."

"You're wrong!"

"Am I?" He threw a shuriken at the girl that grazed her shoulder.  As she watched, a tiny trickle of blood escaped the cut, but then molten fire leaked out and covered the cut, sealing it shut.  "You've already paid the price for your power.  If you survive, in a year or so you will have no will other than the Phoenix's."

She gritted her teeth.  "Did Father have free will?"

"Because he had children, the Phoenix's power was weaker.  We helped him fight its control."

"Then why have you given up?"

"We're the last of a dying clan.  We have powers that everyone fears and no one wants to use.  I have a fiancée that hates me.  What reason is there to continue as Kojiro?" He smiled at her.  "What reason is there sister?" He reached into his hair and formed his flaming katana.

"My name is TenTen." She drew the two scrolls that she used in the last exam from the pouch at her waist and stood them on the ground.  She smiled back at him.  "Twin Rising Dragons!" Two white dragons shot out of the scroll as it unfurled, shooting towards the roof.

TenTen sprang into the air as the last of the scroll unwound itself and wrapped her hand around the handle of the first weapon.  With lightning fast precision she launched the projectiles at her brother.

Two of her kunai lodged themselves in his right shoulder and one shuriken passed through the material of his shirt and stuck in his stomach, but before he could be hit by the rest of the barrage, Kojiro vanished.

Clutching a kunai in her hand, TenTen landed on the floor and her worried brown eyes scanned the room, trying to find any trace of her brother.

Unknown to the two of them a rope was slithering on the ground behind Neji.  One end of it stood up like a snake and continued to rise up higher, then it shot up, its target the boy's neck.

Luckily, Neji was one step ahead of Kojiro's plan.  He spun around and grasped it with his bandaged hand.  The cord writhed in his hand like a snake, bucking against his hand.  Moving his fingers expertly, he tied the rope into fifteen knots, reducing it to only a few inches in length.

TenTen's eyes narrowed.  Kojiro didn't think she was a worthy opponent.  Just like everyone else, he'd rather fight Neji.  "Come out you coward!  You want my power, you can have it!  It's not like I asked for it anyway!"

A sudden blast of hot air charged her and she could only glimpse a flaming object hurtling towards her before it smacked her, sending her crashing through a window.  She landed in the square outside in a pile of shattered glass.  Through blurred vision she saw Kojiro leap through the window, his body swathed in fire.

_'Give up.'_

TenTen gritted her teeth as she struggled to her feet.  She ignored the voice in her head.

_'You're not worthy to be my vessel, you're nothing more than a sniveling pathetic weakling.  Die here and let me channel my strength into one who can help me seek my revenge.'_

"No." She replied softly, drawing seven shuriken.  "I won't give in to you." She flung the weapons at her target.  They zoomed towards Kojiro, but disintegrated when they were within inches of him.

"Come on sister." He laughed.  "You should know that those weapons will never work on me.  Unless you can control the Phoenix you'll die where you stand.'

"Let's see you try." She wasn't a weakling.  "She'd trained just as hard as Neji did.  She knew she was strong, she could feel it in the power that surged within her.  Her own power.  Not the Phoenix's.  The strength that was her birthright, that she had honed with her own hard work.  "This is my body." She muttered, setting her weapon on fire.  "You'll never own me."

"TenTen!" Lee had returned from his walk and was now standing in a crowd of concerned spectators.

She shook her head.  "Don't worry about me.  Neji's still inside."

Lee nodded and dashed into the hotel.

_'You'd kill yourself for your pride.' _The voice inside her head taunted her.

She grunted and charged Kojiro.  TenTen tossed the kunai at him, then slipped her hand into the holster at her side, produced more shuriken, leapt into the air and flung them at him.  Before she even landed, the intense heat surrounding him melted the weapons completely.  It was hopeless.  Just like she was fighting Temari all over again.

_'You said you'd handle this.'_ Neji's voice thundered in her mind.

_'I will.' _She responded.  _'I won't lose.'_

_'Then don't lose.'_

She gritted her teeth.  "Okay Phoenix." She tightened her fist.  "I'll show you how strong I am."

Kojiro looked mildly annoyed.  "Are you done yet?"

"Oniisan." She stood with her feet spread shoulders' width apart, her palms stretched heavenward.  "Kill me."

The crowd was stunned into silence, but Kojiro just grinned and extended his katana towards her.  "Good to see that you've accepted your fate." He walked up to her and pointed the sword at her neck, the heat radiating from it coloring her skin pink.  He swung the sword at her, but the girl vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving his sword stuck in a tree limb.

TenTen reappeared behind him, but before he could turn around she placed her palms on his back and shot a stream of fire directly into his skin.

Kojiro shouted in pain and anger and whirled around to attack her, but she jumped on him, driving a kunai into his chest.

"If I'm touching the weapon then it doesn't burn up." 

"You can't beat me."

She pried the sword from his hand and drove it through his abdomen, pinning him to the ground.  "Open your eyes big brother.  I've already beaten you." She slipped her fingers through his, smirking down at him.  She moved their fingers together faster than anyone could follow.

Kojiro's eyes widened as old memories returned to him.  He thrashed against his lighter sister, lifting his body off the sword.  But he was too late.  She completed the seal.

"You lose brother."

He looked down and blood poured out of his wound.

She turned to the crowd, blood from a wound on her forehead blurring her own vision.  "Please, can someone get a medic for my brother?  He won't hurt anyone, I swear."

Kojiro clenched his fist and stepped forward, wobbling as he moved.  "Leave me alone."

"Someone!" She pleaded.  "Help me."

The crowd parted and two medics came forward, holding a stretcher between them.

The redhead slumped to his knees and passed out face-first in the dirt.

She made a move to go to her brother's side, but a large hand clamped down on her shoulder.  "That was an excellent fight.  You defeated him without killing him, I'm proud of you."

"I didn't have any choice." She watched as the medics took him away.  "He's my brother."

Lee walked over to the girl and his teacher, awe sparkling in his huge eyes.  "That was great TenTen."

She smiled halfheartedly.  "Thanks, but coming to this village was a complete disaster.  We don't have any leads." She stretched her palm toward the still burning hotel and clenched it into a fist, snuffing out the fire.

"Excuse me." An old man pushed to the front of the crowd and bowed before the ninjas, his forehead pressed to the ground.  "Are you a member of the fire clan?"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

_ "Are you a member of the Fire Clan?"_

She shook her head at the question.  "I'm not."

Simultaneously Neji replied for her.  "She is." He looked towards the man's voice.  "What do you know of the fire Clan?"

"Many things that would better be off said in confidence." He turned towards the crowd.  "Perhaps you would like to follow me to my home?  I apologize for the unkind manner in which you have been treated."

"Stand up." TenTen remarked softly.  "You don't have to bow in front of me."

"Still." He stood to his feet, keeping his head bowed.  "One such as you deserves respect.  I am this village's Historian, Hiroki.  This way."

The crowd parted to let them pass, but still whispered behind their hands, no doubt spreading rumors.

Hiroki lead them to a respectable one-storey home towards the center of town.  When they entered he motioned to a young girl about their age.  "Eri, prepare tea for our guests." With that he sank onto a cushion and his audience did the same.  He waited until the girl brought out the tea and poured some for everyone before beginning.  "I never thought I'd see a Fire Clan member again, let alone witness a fight between two of them."

"Hiroki-san, what happened to my clan?  Why is it that Kojiro and I are the only ones that remain?"

"The same fate that befalls all who lust after power." He sighed.  "The Fire Clan grew to be large and prosperous, stretching the Phoenix's power between all of the members.  It is said that the Phoenix withdrew its healing powers from the weaker ones, allowing many of the family members to wither away and die until only the strongest remained.  This caused the anger of the other clans to rise up against them.  It is a universal truth that it is a treacherous thing to kill off one's family for strength, no matter how indirectly.  However, when the village council confronted them, they were already too powerful.  They decided to make a group effort and all of Konoha joined against them.  A meager twenty Fire Clan members survived the battle, most of them children.  They disappeared from Konoha and were said to have all been killed by their former countrymen eventually.  Of course, I know now that they aren't all dead." He smiled at them.  "Is the Clan to make a comeback?"

Neji ignored the question.  "Her father's name was Shinsuke.  He had four children, of them she was the youngest, and Kojiro was just older than she was."

Hiroki seemed to recall that name, and his face darkened as he began to recount the story.  "She's thirteen, isn't she?" At her nod, he continued.  "Shinsuke passed through this area over seventeen years ago with his family, but back then he and his wife only had two daughters, and they traveled with an older man, an Elder in their clan." He seemed troubled.  "In those times our village was terrorized by a gang of foreigners, but thanks to Shinsuke they were driven away and we were able to reestablish ourselves.  The people here all remember what things were like before they saved us, and I make sure the young ones are made to be grateful for the life they have today." He sighed.  "Back then we rarely went a day without a murder and no one would come to our aid.  No matter what anyone said about the Fire Clan, we respect them because they helped us when no one else would."

"That's why you wouldn't betray them to us." Lee murmured.

"The further away from Konoha you travel, the less willing anyone will be able to answer your questions."

"Hiroki-san, we only have one question."

He smiled at TenTen.  "How can I help you?"

"All we want to know is the origin of the seal used to bind the Phoenix to my ancestor."

"Why would you want to know something like that?"

"We want to be free." She replied.  "We want the Phoenix to be free."

His smile faltered as he stood to his feet.  "That's a noble wish.  However, I cannot help you."

Neji stood as well.  "Don't lie to us.  Why must we be cursed to our deaths."

"It was his wish." Hiroki replied.  "Your ancestor wanted his line to be protected forever.  Death is your only freedom."

"At least tell us the village he came from."

The old man held his head in his hands.  "It is a difficult thing to distinguish truth from legend."

Lee reached into his pocket and pulled out the list of villages they had copied from the diary.  "Is it on here?" He handed it to Hiroki.

The man scanned the paper several times.  "Do you have a map?"

Lee produced that as well.

He compared the list and the map.  "It's this one." He pointed at a village on the border to Sound Country.  "One more thing that could help your investigation…"

TenTen stood.  "What is it?"

"Your ancestor was not a he.  Her name was Haruka."

TenTen had no visible reaction to the news.  She just stood there as if she'd known it all along, and maybe she had.

"Please, spend the night here." He begged.  "We'd be thrilled to house you, and there's much I could learn about how your clan continued to survive from your stories."

Gai shook his head.  "My students are very eager to finish this mission.  In their glorious youth, this means everything to them.  And as it's a two day journey to find the answers we steadfastly seek after, we should get started right away."

"Does everything he says have to be a speech?" Neji muttered to himself.

"Thank you very much for talking to us." TenTen said, effectively hiding her amusement at Neji's statement.  "And thank you for the gesture, but perhaps there is something else you can do for me."

"Anything." The man replied.

"Could you keep watch on my brother until the ANBU members arrive for him?"

Hiroki appeared conflicted, but he nodded nonetheless.

"And when they arrive, tell them that he means to betray their confidence."

He nodded.  "I understand."

"Thank you." Without looking back, TenTen walked out of the house.  Neji, Gai and Lee followed her out.

"We'll gather our supplies from the hotel room and then head towards our goal." With Gai's statement, the young ninjas found themselves sprinting back towards the hotel and eagerly removing their backpacks from the badly burned room.

Although Gai's face was covered from ear to ear with one of his trademark wide grins, on the inside he wasn't nearly as happy as his smile implied.  Kojiro had proven to be a tough and wily opponent, catching him completely off-guard.  He had thought that the earlier encounter with TenTen and Neji had effectively damaged his pride, but it had done almost nothing to dissuade the boy.  After they had moved ten miles away from the camp Gai had suddenly found himself hoisted fifty feet in the air, hanging by his boot.  It had only taken him a few seconds to get down, but by that time, Kojiro had managed to have the surrounding area littered with traps.  He'd had to tread quite cautiously across the terrain, and that had slowed him down a lot.  He'd managed to make it to the village in time to see the end of TenTen's battle with her brother.  He was proud of her for not letting the older boy get the best of her, and for not giving him exactly what he wanted, death.

Leaving him behind at this village however, was a wild leap of faith.  His psychotic nature made him completely unpredictable, and the people here were greatly indebted to Shinsuke of the Fire Clan and his children.  Their loyalty would most likely be to Kojiro who remained true to his roots as the Phoenix's vessel, than to TenTen, who allied herself with Konoha and chose to rid herself of her own power.  He sighed.  He would definitely have to return here to ensure that the village didn't suffer any damage, and he had to be sure to advise the Hokage to strengthen their relationship with the surrounding villages.  If there were no jobs to be handed out, ninjas were often seen as threats to the everyday lives of the ordinary people who lived near them.

They journeyed in silence for the most part, except for when Gai would shout out some enthusiastic phrase meant to encourage them, and Lee would echo his sentiments.  Despite their attempts to lighten the mood, Neji and TenTen still seemed to walk with a dark cloud hanging over their heads.

Lee sighed inwardly.  His friends weren't the same anymore.  Even though as a team they'd had their fights, and he and Neji had their rivalry, he considered them to be very close and important to him, and that's why it hurt that they shut him out and only seemed able to share their pain with each other.  Just like Gai-sensei, he seemed to be unable to tap into the more positive side of himself near them.  Neji had always sought to suck the cheer out of them and had failed to succeed, but now, without even trying, Lee could feel that cloud extending to cover him as well.  But their happiness would return, he was sure of it.  As soon as they were rid of her family curse, TenTen would begin to smile again, and once Neji's eyes were healed and he was able to use Byakugan, they would be back to bickering and fighting like they always did, and Gai-sensei would threaten them with some severe punishment.  Then one day, they would pass the Chuunin exam and have to separate, but they would remain close friends, even as they became stronger ninjas.  And he would ask Sakura-san out one day, even if she denied him forever, he would keep trying until she gave in.  And when they grew up, Neji would make good on his promise, and marry TenTen, make all of her dreams come true, and their whole team would live happily ever after.

Lee groaned.  That was too positive.  Even he knew there was no such thing as happily ever after.  TenTen would always be haunted by the Phoenix and the Shiratori brothers, and as hard as Neji tried, he would never be able to forget his own curses, and he would always walk with a limp, as a constant reminder of how far he could push himself.  They would try to reconstruct their lives, to adjust their dreams to fit their new situations, and do the best they could, and maybe, just maybe they would all pull through together.

They'd only known each other for about a year and a half, but he felt an inseparable bond to Neji, TenTen, and Gai-sensei.  If they had never met, his life probably would've gone in a completely different direction.  He wouldn't be here for one, but he just couldn't imagine himself without them.

Lee hadn't noticed it, but the sun had already set.  It had made its descent over two hours ago, yet they continued to hike through the darkness.  "Gai-sensei?"

Gai understood his student's unvoiced question.  "We'll camp here for the night."

"No." Neji's voice broke the long streak of silence on his and TenTen's part.  "We want to keep going.  We'll rest later."

"Believe it or not, your bodies are not indestructible, and neither are yours.  We all need to rest, especially after what happened today.  You may still be running off of adrenaline, but we cannot afford to be lethargic when that wears off." He nodded at Lee.  "Lay out your sleeping bags."

"I told you, we're not tired."

"Then lie down until you are." Gai commanded.

Silently seething, Neji stalked off from the others.

Almost immediately, TenTen turned to follow him.

Gai stood in front of her, blocking her path.  "Where do you think you're going?"

"After him, he needs me."

"Neji needs some time alone."

"But he can't see, he'll only get lost."

"If he hasn't returned in an hour, then we'll go after him, but until then, I want you to rest, and try to sleep." Gai then stepped out of her way and started to gather some sticks for a fire.

TenTen forced herself to look down the path for Neji, but she could see no trace of him.  Resigned to doing what Gai had requested, she sighed and unrolled her sleeping bag.

The minutes crawled by, finally fading into an hour, and Neji still hadn't returned.  She was beginning to get worried.

Gai wasn't showing it on his face, but he was worried as well.  He nodded at the girl, and she scampered up from where she was lying, dashing into the forest.

It was eerily silent on the path where Neji had gone, a few branches lay broken on the ground from when he had stormed through the area.  He could not have gotten very far in just an hour, but no matter how hard she forced the Phoenix to probe the area for him, she could not sense him.  Depression quickly fell over her, and she looked up at the sky and screamed.  "NEJI, WHERE ARE YOU?"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

A/N: Warnings for this chapter, there's some dialogue that's a bit sickening, but nothing really graphic.  And I'm even letting Lee be focused on more.  He must really be growing on me.

Neji had been so angry that he hadn't even noticed he was being followed.  He'd smelled the poisonous gas on the wind only seconds before his body became paralyzed.  The next thing he knew he had been hoisted into air and carried between what he estimated to be two people.  After what seemed to be a ten minute journey through the treetops they finally came to a stop.  He felt them leap down to the ground and then his body was thrown against a rock.

"Well well." The low gravelly baritone was not a voice he recognized.  "Looks like we caught ourselves a ninja."

"What are we going to do with this one?" The second voice was almost identical to the first.

His voice became sinister.  "I can think of a few things."

"So can I." The other one replied.

"You first."

"Now that I think about it, this guy does deserve whatever punishment we can think of.  It is his fault what happened to his friend after all, and he did kill our brother."

At that statement Neji fought off the paralysis and tried to jump to his feet, but he was quickly kicked in the stomach.  A clump of blood flew out of his mouth.  "Fucking bastards." He growled.

He was gripped by his long hair.  "Watch your language brat."

"That was quite a show your girlfriend put on the night Honda died.  Fireworks and all." He clenched his free fist.  "We still have the burn marks on our flesh, isn't that right Kenji?"

"Yeah Ryoji.  It even still hurts sometimes."

"You killed your brother you sons of a bitch!" 

The fingers tightened in his hair.  "And you've got no proof."

"You ran away from Konoha."

"And so did you." Neji countered.

"Besides, we had to.  Who wants to be caught hanging around when they found the body?"

Neji gritted his teeth.  "Who else did you kill?"

"Our sensei was just like you.  He asked a lot of questions, and constantly ruined our fun.  He was going to rat us out, so we arranged for him to have an unfortunate accident.  He ended up buried twelve feet underground, impaled by fifteen spikes.  If you want, we can arrange something similar for you."

Neji snarled, but he was forcefully restrained by one of them.

"Your girlfriend screams like a banshee." One of them remarked.  "Too bad you're not old enough to put that to good use."

"Shut up." He growled.

"What's wrong Neji?  Don't get upset with us.  We're doing you a favor."

"Since you won't survive to sleep with her yourself, we'll be kind enough to let you know what it was like." His voice got closer to Neji's ear.  "In excruciating detail."

Neji struggled to get up again, but this time he fell down without anyone touching him.

"You shouldn't do that.  The more you move, the faster the paralyzing agent moves through your body and the longer you won't be able to move."

"You know you're curious.  She hasn't told you what she remembers of that night and it makes you wonder.  Did she actually enjoy it?"

"Have you ever heard her moan?"

"I said to shut up!"

They ignored him.  "Her skin is so soft and smooth.  Have you ever touched her Neji?"

"You sick bastards." He couldn't take it anymore.  "You raped an innocent girl and you're proud of it."

"Nobody's innocent."

"She was, and you took that away." Neji could feel the anger surging through him, and with it, his temperature rose dramatically, the searing heat scorching him from the inside out.

The twins looked at the sweat on his skin and laughed.  "It's starting to really kick in."

"We wanted to kill you in the most painful way possible, but we'll just settle for the fastest way.  This will go straight to your heart and collapse it." Neji felt a tiny pinprick in his right arm.  "You'll be dead within minutes."

The boy lifted his head and smirked.  "I won't, but you will." The liquid that had just been injected into him oozed out through his skin.  "You should've just cut off my head." He stood on shaky feet and slipped into his fighting stance, his right palm facing his abductors and his left hand hanging limply at his side.

One of the boys snorted.  "How are you going to beat us if you can't see us?"

Neji smiled.  "I don't have to." He urged his left hand up to meet his right and formed a series of complicated seals.  "Burning Soul Phoenix no Jutsu!"

Ryoji and Kenji knew when they were beaten and before the flaming bird could attack them, they made good on their escape.

Exhausted by the effects of the gas they'd used and from summoning the phoenix, Neji sank back down onto the ground to regain his strength.  He had no idea where he was now, but if he knew in his heart that if he kept still, Gai and the rest of his team would come find and him.

~~~

"Gai-sensei!" Lee ran to his teacher's side as the man emerged from deep within the forest.  "I haven't been able to find him, have you seen him?"

Gai shook his head slowly.  "Iie.  I couldn't find him."

The bushes rustled behind Lee.  He turned around quickly, a wide grin on his face, expecting to see his comrades standing there, smiling back at him.  Instead, he saw only TenTen, her brown eyes rimming over with tears, and her lower lip quivering.  His smile faded almost instantly and he ran to TenTen's side.  "What's wrong?"

"I-I-"

He couldn't help it.  The way she was acting made him nervous.  Before he even realized he had gripped her by the shoulders and was shaking her back and forth.  "What happened TenTen?  What's wrong with Neji?"

A tear slipped down the girl's cheek.  "I couldn't find him." She lifted a hand to grip her forehead.  "The Phoenix.  It told me…"

"What did it say TenTen?  What the hell did it say?  What's wrong with Neji?"

"It said…that if we don't find him soon, he's going to die."

"It's lying TenTen!" He shouted.  "Don't believe it!  Don't let it break your spirit.  Gai-sensei, tell her!"

Gai frowned.  He looked up at the darkening sky.  "It's right.  Lots of dangerous people roam the forests around Konoha and in Neji's condition he won't be able to fight them all off."

TenTen sniffed loudly, wiping her tears away.  "We have to find him."

Gai nodded.  "We will."

"TenTen, you can sense him, can't you?"

She paused briefly, and then nodded.  "Just barely."

"Then we'll have to go with that.  Lead us to him."

TenTen swallowed hard and pressed into the bushes.  _'Hang on Neji'_

~~~

Using the Phoenix had seemed like a good idea at first, but he know realized that it was a mistake.  His body was too weak to summon something that powerful.  Though he'd been sitting still for nearly an hour now, his breath still came in ragged gulps.  The voice in his head was strangely quiet, leading him to believe that there really was something wrong with his body.

What really bothered him though, was the fact that Ryoji and Kenji had not been injured by the Phoenix, and with him so weak now, they could easily be hiding in the trees waiting for him to fall asleep so they could kill him.  His eyes widened as he thought of something worse.  TenTen was wandering through the forest looking for him.  If they knew that, there was a chance they would go after her again.  He struggled to his feet.  He had to find her before they did.

He made it nearly twenty feet before his legs gave way and he slumped down against a tree.  _'Shit.' _He cursed mentally, punching the dirt beside him.  Those bastards hadn't managed to kill him, but they'd done a pretty good job of screwing him over.  His legs felt like jello underneath him.  The paralysis effect was lasting longer than usual because he'd let it circulate throughout his whole body just because he was angry. 

Neji leaned his head against the tree and sighed.  _'Please be okay TenTen.'_

~~~

TenTen stopped walking suddenly, causing Lee to walk straight into her.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I heard Neji's voice."

"Then we're close?"

"Hai." Her brown eyes clouded over with worry.  "He's not doing well though.  We have to hurry." The girl sprinted into the bushes. 

"HEY!  WAIT!" Lee chased after her.

"AHH! FINALLY YOUR ENTHUSIASTIC YOUTH BURNS WITHIN YOU!" Gai smiled broadly and followed his two students into the forest.

~~~

Neji tried once more, and this time found that he could stand on his feet, and if he took it slowly could move ten or eleven feet without tiring.  Once his strength began to give out he would lean against a tree until he regained it.  On his fifth try sensed TenTen coming towards him.  If he kept going in the direction he was headed in, he would step directly into her path.  Now, even more motivated, he pushed off the tree he was leaning against and placed one foot in front of the other.  If he ever ran into the Shiratori brothers again, he wouldn't spare them death.

~~~

"It won't be much longer!" TenTen shouted behind them.  "He's just up ahead."

As Lee watched, Neji's figure emerged from the trees in front of them.  He looked disheveled and bruised, and blood was crusted on his lips.  He appeared to be stumbling towards them and looked as though his legs would give away any second.

Neji tripped over an upturned root and was too exhausted to prevent his fall, he could only stand there as he felt the ground rush towards him.  In mid-fall he could feel two thin arms wrap around his waist and pull him to a female body.  "TenTen?"

"It's me."

His hands came up and hugged her tightly to him.  "Thank god you're okay."

"Me?" She traced the bruises on his face.  "What happened to you?"

"I ran into some old friends."

"Who were they?"

He shook his head.  "Don't worry about it.  I'm okay and so are you."

She tightened her fist in his shirt.  "They're here, aren't they?"

"I ran them off TenTen.  You don't have any reason to worry.  I told you I'd kill them for you."

Half of her wanted release him and go chasing after the Shiratori brothers, but the other, more reasonable part of her wanted to stay standing here, holding him.

"It looks as though our journey will be delayed.  Neji is in no condition to continue on.  We'll head back to camp." He walked over to the boy, tossed him effortlessly over his shoulder and walked towards their things.

"He's okay." Lee said.  "He just needs to rest." 

"Those bastards hurt him."

"They hurt you too."

"He wants to kill them."

"He'll succeed."

"I know, but it'll change him.  Neji has never killed anyone before."

"But he'll do it for you." Lee assured her.  "Doesn't that mean something?"

TenTen didn't reply, just muttered inaudibly and followed Gai.

Lee groaned.  Things were already not going their way, and they still nearly two days of hiking to go.  He clasped his hands together for a moment.  "God, please work everything out for us.  I just don't want my friends to have to hurt anymore."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

A/N: I'm sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but let it be known that only two chapters remain, I think, we'll see, once I finish, sort of…

"Gai-sensei?"

"Hai."

"Didn't Kojiro say that he had ANBU chasing him?"

The man nodded.

"We haven't seen any ANBU at all and they would've had to come this way if they were really after him."

"Do you think he was lying?"

"No." She shook her head.  "I think he killed them."

Lee glanced at his teammates.  TenTen seemed genuinely shaken over her own admission, while Gai and Neji looked as the though the news didn't concern them at all.  "What do we do?"

"The village is just up ahead." And sure enough the trees parted to form a large expanse of farmland.  The group of four ninjas continued to trek through the countryside until they came upon the gates of the town.

Lee squinted at the sign.  The words were faded and difficult to make out, but this area definitely the point on the map.

"We're here!" TenTen shouted, unable to contain herself.  She ran into the village, yelling for them to join her.

Lee felt a broad grin stretch his face.  Their journey was almost at an end, and his friends wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

Gai clapped Lee on his back.  "Go ahead.  Express your happiness."

As best as he could, Lee began running towards her, laughing the whole way, but as he watched, TenTen stopped in her tracks.  Worried, he caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder.  "What's wrong?"

She didn't lift her head and spoke in a dejected voice.  "Look around you and then tell me what's wrong."

Lee turned his gaze to take in his surroundings.  The town's buildings were falling apart and were completely desolate.  An eerie fog seeped out from under the doors of the building.

"How could I have been so stupid?" He could tell that she was crying now.  "Some great kunoichi I was going to be, I couldn't even tell when it was hopeless."

"It isn't hopeless TenTen.  We're gonna find someone who can help you break free."

"Don't you get it Lee?" She barked.  "I'm not human anymore.  What's the point of saving me?"

"You're my friend and I'll never let you down."

"This is bigger than you Lee."

"TenTen…"

"You and Gai-sensei should go back to Konoha.  Neji and I will stay out here, where we can't hurt anyone."

"You can't be serious."

"Why not?  It's my life, I can do whatever I want."

"You're not going to run away."

"And who's going to stop me?"

"I will, if I have to." Lee took a fighting stance, fully prepared to knock TenTen out and drag her back to Konoha if that was what it took.  "Just because this is a dead end doesn't mean that the way to your freedom isn't out there somewhere."

"Really?" She clenched her fist.  "Lee, this is my ancestor's village." She pointed out at a field some distance from town.  "That's where she found the Phoenix." Her hand shook with emotion and she lowered it to her side.  "If you're going to take me back, then go ahead." She turned to face Lee and Gai.  "I'm only going to run away later.  And I'll keep running."

Lee heard footsteps behind him.  "I agree with her."

"Neji?"

"It's better if you just leave us here."

Gai laughed.

"Sensei?"

"Did you really think that after all that time I spent with you guys I'd really just be able to abandon you in the time of your darkest peril?"

"See?" Lee's confidence was back up.  With Gai-sensei supporting them there was no way they would lose.  "All we have to do is look hard.  There's bound to be someone around here."  He broke off running and TenTen could only sweatdrop as he proved his zeal by knocking on every door and poking his head through every window.

"C'mon." Gai clapped on her back.  "We can't let Lee do all the work by himself, can we?" He smiled down at her.

"S-sensei?" She wrung the hem of her shirt with her hands.  "Arigato, for everything."

"You don't need to thank me.  Seeing you smile is enough."

TenTen took Neji by the hand.  "Let's go help Lee search."

Gai gave the girl a thumb's up.  "We will all search till your young virile bodies have been sapped of energy!"

Both Neji and TenTen sweatdropped profusely.  Nothing about that sentence sound safe.

Lee cupped his hands around his mouth.  "OI!  Is there anyone here?" He poked his head in a window to find yet another empty building.  "OI!" He darted across the street to knock on the door of another house.  When his hand touched the door it disintegrated, spraying wood chips and dust everywhere.  He bent down to examine the pile and didn't miss the tiny bugs scurrying away.  "Whoever they were, they abandoned this town a long time ago.  The termites have eaten completely through these houses."

Neji wrinkled his nose.  "I smell smoke."

"There can't be anything burning.  This is a ghost town."

He shook his head.  "It's coming from over there." He pointed to the left.  Before TenTen could stop him he sprinted off in the direction he had pointed in.  

She immediately chased after him.  "Neji, stop!  Don't you remember what happened the last time you took off on your own?  You got lost!" She continued to shout as his back, as he showed no signs of stopping or slowing down.  "I don't want to have to worry about you again!"

_"Just follow me.  I can sense someone."_

She turned and shouted behind her.  "Sensei, this way!  Neji says he senses someone."

The other two members followed them through the field.  They ran for what seemed like miles before they came across a small one-room hut.  The building was surrounded by a small garden that grew just enough to sustain one person.  As Neji said earlier, a column of smoke rose through a chimney to the sky.  He lifted his hand and knocked on the door.  "Hello?"

No response.

He knocked again, this time even louder.

Not one sound came from the inside.

"Hello, is anybody home?"

A chair scraped over a wooden floor and then the door handle jiggled and swung open.  A dark-haired man in his mid-thirties answered Neji's knock.  "Who are you?"

"We were told that this was the village where Haruka found the Phoenix.  Please can you help us?"

"This village was destroyed ten years ago in a raid.  I don't know anything about this Haruka or the Phoenix.  Now if you'll excuse me, my dinner is burning." He stepped back and began to close the door.

The door stopped suddenly and their host looked up to see a bandaged hand stopping it.  When Neji spoke, his tone was terrifying.  "I don't care about what happened to your village, and I'm not here to kill you.  However, if you don't tell me what I want to know, I may change my plans."

"Are you threatening me boy?"

The bandaged hand left the door and closed around the man's neck.  "Am I threatening you now?"

He locked both his hands around Neji, trying to pry the fingers apart.

"It won't work." TenTen said softly.  "He's really strong."

"I'm not telling you two anything."

"We don't want the information to hurt anyone.  We just want to be free."

"Who are you?"

"We're the phoenix's damn vessels.  I know you know the truth tell us your name."

"Let me go."

"Let him go Neji."

Scowling, the boy released his prisoner.

The man rubbed the now red finger marks on his neck.  "Come in." He walked over to his crudely made stove and tested the soup.  He then put out the fire.  "How can I help you?"

Gai and Lee slipped into the house behind them.

"We want to know about the seal Haruka used to bind the Phoenix."

"What makes you think I can help you?  Just because I live near that village doesn't mean I was a part of it."

"Please don't play games with us." TenTen begged.  "You're our last chance."

The man sighed.  "I may know the origins of the seal.  My parents left some scrolls with me before they died.  They said it contained the entire history of our clan as well as the techniques they used to teach.  The information you're looking for about Haruka and that seal may be in there."

"Did they tell you anything about her?"

"Only that her fiancé broke their engagement and she left for Konoha to become a ninja."

"We all know how that turned out." Neji mumbled.

"Then where'd I come from?"

"She found another suitor in Konoha, one who hungered for power and had no problem bearing her curse." He bent over and opened a trunk.  Instantly a musty smell flooded the room.  "It's in there."

The trunk was stuffed to overflowing with scrolls and old papers.  "This'll take forever to get through.  Haven't you read this?"

He sat cross-legged on the floor and placed his bowl of soup on the table in front of him.  "I suppose you'd rather hear it than read it, wouldn't you?"


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: And so, a chapter of my life comes to a close.  With this, my twenty-eighth offering to this story, I have successfully come to a conclusion.  Perhaps, if I get a good amount of responses, I will be motivated to write an epilogue and maybe even tackle a sequel.  But, you'll have to let me know if there is life for these characters after Possession.  Thank you for sticking through everything with me, and maybe in the near future we'll meet again through another story I've authored or maybe I'll be reading one of your stories.  So if you can, get in contact with me, I'd love to hear from you, got nothing else to get me through my days.  And with that I end my note and send you on to the rest of this chapter.

Chapter 28

The man sipped from his bowl.  "I am surprised you managed to make it this far though.  Others have tried before you, to free themselves of Haruka's curse, but have failed miserably." He smiled briefly before shoving another spoonful of the hot liquid into his mouth.  "For you to find the strength to make it this far then you must have ignored all of the other failures who told you that there was no hope.  It's a dreadful future to have, knowing that the only way to be free is to die." He placed his spoon down on the table.  "My apologies, I have been rude to you, my honored guests.  If you are hungry, then I have made enough soup for all of you to eat from it."

"Did you know we were coming?"

"Iie." He shook his head.  "I didn't know that you would come, but I always knew someone would come." He sighed.  "I was told to protect this information for the day when Haruka's descendants would need it.  You see, my ancestor was her first fiancé, the one who could not find the strength to share her curse.  In his old age, he realized his folly, and wrote everything down in these scrolls before he completely forgot.  He wanted to reconcile to her, but she had died long before, so he swore that one day he'd repay her." He brought the spoon to his mouth once more.  "My name is Raito, Hiyama Raito.  My ancestor's name was Masahiro.  He was very much in love with Haruka, and the day it happened, he was on his way to announce the date of their wedding to her.  However, when he finally saw her, she was swearing away her body to the Phoenix.  He tried to stop her before the seal was completed, but he couldn't get close to her in time.  From his writings he says that her entire body burned so much so that if he had gotten even one step closer he would've been burnt to a crisp.  There was nothing he could do, except stand there and wait for the flames to die away.  When it finally did, she was lying there, completely naked, but alive."

Lee sat down with a bowl of soup.  "But, why did he break their engagement?" 

"Masahiro was not a very strong or confident man, but his family had a lot of resources.  Even though she offered him a chance to share her strength, he turned her down because he was terrified that she no longer needed him.  And of course, she didn't."

"What happened next?" TenTen questioned.

"He went to her parents and formally broke of the engagement.  A few days later, Haruka disappeared.  Her only explanation for leaving was that a letter that said simply, 'I don't want to kill you.'  Their families assumed that she went to Konoha as it was only logical for someone who wanted to be a ninja so badly.  But after hearing Masahiro's story of why they had parted ways, they decided it would be best if they forgot that she had ever existed to them." He looked down at the bowl.  "Twenty years later, on a visit to Konoha to beg the services of their ninja, Masahiro heard of the birth of a Fire Clan in their town.  It was a fledgling clan, no more than thirty clan members, but it was rumored to be powerful nonetheless.  While he was there he saw her, beautiful and youthful as ever, but with a husband and three children.  They locked eyes and it was enough for him to realize that she wanted nothing to do with him."

"He had no cause to be surprised." Gai replied.  "He had already broken her heart."

"Ah." Raito agreed.  "So she found men and women ambitious enough to share her curse, and built a clan among them.  Then she chose one of them to be her husband and to continue her own line."

Neji cleared his throat.  He was growing bored.  "I don't care about her history.  I'm not a part of this family.  All I want to know is how we must free ourselves."

Raito stared the boy down.  "You can't be free."

"But you said there was a way!" TenTen protested.

He shook his head.  "All I said was that you hadn't failed yet."

"You dare to string us along?" Neji was on the verge of being irate.

"There is no way to be completely free.  The phoenix made a promise to Haruka, and the eternal bird is not one to renege on its promises.  It will not stop protecting you, but if you have the strength of spirit, you can return it to its own body."

TenTen clenched her fists.  "How can we do that?"

He looked up at them seriously.  "Are you the only ones left?"

She shook her head.  "My brother, Kojiro is still alive."

_"You are mistaken child, my servant is dead."_

Lee looked at the pale face of his companion.  "What's wrong?"

"K-K-Kojiro…" She wavered on her feet and then sank to her knees

Lee got even more agitated.  "What's the matter?"

"Her brother's dead." Neji replied.  "He succumbed to his injuries."

"I thought you could heal yourselves."

"He didn't want to live."

Raito stroked his chin.  "Perhaps it is a good thing that he no longer lives."

"**WHAT?" TenTen's brown eyes seemed to go as black as coals.**

"The ritual can only be performed if all of the members of the Fire Clan are present." He placed his empty bowl on the table and then walked over to the front door.  "It's only necessary for the two of you to come with me." He looked at Gai and Lee.  "No matter what you hear, do not interrupt us."

The two males nodded.

TenTen and Neji followed Raito outside and then watched as he sealed the door shut.

"It's best if you two don't stand too close together.  When the phoenix leaves your bodies it will be like a miniature explosion.  The last thing you want is to kill your partner while freeing yourself." Raito procured a paintbrush and a small can of red paint from one of his pockets and then knelt down, creating a design completely from memory.  "It works best if you are silent."

TenTen squeezed her eyes shut.  They would never truly be free, but their minds would be their own, and when they had children one day, they would never have to suffer the fate of the possessed, the fate of the Phoenix.  What felt like ten minutes passed and then she felt a blade being pressed into her palm.

"What happens next depends on how much you believe in yourselves.  The Phoenix's fire has replaced the blood in your veins, so you have to drain yourselves of it." Raito paused.  "If you have trust in my knowledge, you will stab yourselves in the heart and then bleed away all of the Phoenix's essence."

"You want us to die at our own hands?" Neji questioned.  "You can't be serious." He turned to leave, and then found that he was forced to stand in place.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to leave.  I must honor Masahiro's promise to Haruka."

Neji clenched his hand around the knife.

"I hope you're not thinking of killing me." Raito said.  "If you do, then who would stop the bleeding once it starts?"

"Bastard."

"You came to me, I didn't come to you."

TenTen turned the blade towards her chest.  "It's better to die than to be cursed, right?"

"**TENTEN!" Neji screamed.  "**Don't you dare listen to him!**"**

"There's no way to know if we don't try."

His voice softened.  "It's just like killing yourself.  Please, don't."

"The only choice we have for freedom is to die, at least this way, there's an alternative."

"The Phoenix entered Haruka's blood.  It was her life-force, it sustained her, it healed her, and it passed down to her children through her blood at their births.  Unfortunately, it stole thirty years from her life.  She was barely forty when she died, because it drained her energy from her body completely.  If you don't do this, that will be your fate.  If you even have children, you won't live to see them grow up.  But Konoha won't stand for that, someone there will probably kill you before you even make it that far."

TenTen stared down at the knife in her hands.  She had always felt the Phoenix's presence in her heart.  That was what it twisted when it wanted to get its own way.  Raito was not lying to her.  "Neji, it's going to be okay, just do what he says."

The boy gritted his teeth.  "TenTen…"

"Don't think about it.  Just do it." She inhaled deeply and then thrust the blade as far into her chest as she could push it.  Even though she didn't want to, she screamed at the top of her lungs.  The pain was nearly unbearable, not only from the wound she had inflicted on herself, but there was a deeper pain, one that seemed as though it was tearing away at her very soul.  It forced her eyes open, made her stare down at the wound, despite the fact that all she wanted to do was to look away.  She lifted her hand slowly, and jerked the knife out, sending molten fire spewing from her cut.  

She stared at the fire in horror, her deceased brother's words echoing in her head.

_"I bet you don't even know that you're not human anymore. You don't have an identity dear sister. You're just the __Phoenix__'s fire in human skin."_

She groaned.  "Neji, please don't resist.  It's okay, I can feel it leaving."

"You're feeling your life slip away."

She shook her head.  "No, I can sense the Phoenix leaving, can't you?"

Neji rotated the knife in his bandaged hands.  He was not one for self-injury, he'd prefer to find some other way out before he had to resort to this, but he also would not let TenTen suffer needlessly alone.  He removed his thick jacket.  For this to work, he would have to pierce the skin just to the left or the right of his heart and miss his arteries completely.  He tested the blade against the surface of his skin and then pressing his hands towards his chest, pierced the skin swiftly.  He jiggled the knife free and then howled at the top of his lungs as he could feel a part of himself rupture.  Out of some unexplainable reflex, he covered his wound with his fingers.  He felt the scorching heat of the same molten liquid that always oozed out of his cuts and sealed them, but this time, it made no effort to heal him, it just continued to flow.  As he stood there clutching at his wound, he felt the high temperature and the thickness of the liquid began to lessen.  He eventually stopped smelling searing flesh and he knew then that what he was beginning to feel was blood.  Before he could cry out to Raito he felt a strip of cloth being wound tightly around his chest.

TenTen gasped in awe, her wound already bandaged.  The fire that had leaked out to them was drawn together and was beginning to form the magnificent bird that she herself had only released twice.  The bird that had saved her life, and then tried to control it.  The flames settled together and died down, leaving a giant bird, perhaps three times her height, with red-orange plumage and an air of wisdom around it.

It cocked its head and stared at her and without opening its beak she could hear its voice in her head.  _"You freed me.  The last of Haruka's children."_

"It was my only option.  I don't want to forfeit my life."

It nodded.  _"Despite my beliefs, you and Neji are noble.  You will do well together."_

"Arigatou."

The bird lifted its wing and pointed it at Neji and spoke directly into his brain.  _"See."_

A burst of fire shot from its wing and torched the bandages around his eyes.  The ashes fell away, revealing his white eyes, the legacy of his family.  For him though, his vision was blurry at best, and was largely taken up by an enormous moving red-orange blur.  

_"It'll be a while before you can see perfectly, but healing you is my gift to you for freeing me, and breaking my cycle of possession."_

"We didn't like being possessed too much anyway." TenTen smiled at the bird.

Raito stared at the Phoenix.  "You haven't left them completely, have you?"

The bird seemed to shake its head.  _"I would never break my promise to Haruka.  She never intended to hurt me or her family.  Had my bitterness not gotten the best of me, perhaps we could have lived in symbiosis."_

"We should go now."

_"Ah.  I have a home to return to as well."_ With that, the giant bird flapped its wings, creating a powerful wind that threatened to blow its observers away.

Lee and Gai opened the door of the house and ran out just in time to watch the Phoenix fly away.

"WOW!" Lee shouted.  "That's a beautiful creature, is it really okay to just let it go?"

"Yes." His sensei replied.  "The phoenix does not really desire to hurt anyone.  It just lashes out to protect itself."

Freed from her bonds, TenTen stumbled over to Neji and wrapped her arms around him.  "I'm tired, can we go home?"

He looked over to Gai for assurance and then lifted his hand and patted her head fondly.  "Yes TenTen, we can go home."


	29. Epilogue

A/N: Well, this is a relatively short epilogue, and for that I am sorry, I guess, but it is an epilogue, and does leave room for me to continue, were I so inclined.  While I do have sort of sketches of ideas of what to do next, I'm not exactly sure if I want to continue with it, so I dunno, here's the Ending Ending.

Epilogue

"And you thought they were too old for bedtime stories." She smiled at her husband and drew the covers up over her son and daughter.

He scoffed.  "This doesn't count, it wasn't a real story."

"Because it was true?"

He sighed from his position leaning against the door.  "Do you really think they need to learn about that already?"

"She's not a little girl anymore Neji.  Haruka's already eleven.  She'll be graduating from the Academy soon, and she'll need to know why using fire techniques comes so easy to her."

"Can't she be satisfied with Byakugan?"

"Can you?"

He didn't respond, just snorted and looked away.

She got up from the chair she was sitting in.  "You're such a good father to them Neji."

He blushed.  "You're a great mother too."

She embraced him, her face leaning against his chest.  "I remember a day when we never thought we would make it this far."

"I never had that problem."

She pushed him out of the room, not wanting to wake up the two children that had put up a terrible fuss about being sent to bed.  "Don't you dare lie to me Hyuuga Neji."

"What?" He fought to control the smile that was threatening to stretch across his face.  "I'm not lying."

"You weren't afraid that we would die back then?"

"No."

"Hmm.I seem to remember differently."

He opened the door to their bedroom and let her in ahead of him.  "Then your memory is playing games with you."

She sighed, deciding not to continue the argument with her husband.  His stubborn streak was wider than hers anyway, she wouldn't stand a chance.  "Let's just go to bed.  You have to go see Kotetsu in the morning." She climbed into bed.

He took his place next to her, pulling the covers up to his chest.  "Those kids will never look at their uncle the same way again."

"Serves him right." She muttered, snuggling against her husband's chest.

"You are going to see the doctor in the morning, right?"

She groaned.  "Yes, Neji.  You don't have to patronize me, I'm not a child."

"Hmm." He threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her tighter.  "Still, I am glad about what happened."

She raised an eyebrow, and then realizing that he couldn't see her, spoke up.  "What do you mean?"

"Without the Phoenix, do you think the two of us would've ever bonded together?"

"We were friends."

"Teammates.  To you, I might have been your friend, but me, you were nothing more than my teammate."

She hugged him tighter.  "All we needed was time Neji.  I would've worn you down."

"You have a lot of confidence."

"I have to.  How else would I keep up with you?"

He yawned.  "How do you keep up with Haruka and Kojiro?  After training with her and chasing him around the house all day, I'm starting to wish that I had taken the mission Hokage had offered."

"And I didn't deserve a day off?"

"Of course you did, and I appreciate what you do around here even more." He kissed her on the forehead.

She murmured something softly and he felt her movements still.  She had fallen asleep.  She had grown up into a beautiful woman, and it was hard for him to believe that it had been fifteen years ago when their children's bedtime story had been reality for both of them.

He didn't know how long he lay there, listening to the sound of her breathing in and out, but he couldn't fall asleep, something was tugging at the back of his mind, and it wouldn't let him go.  He reached out carefully and shook her shoulder gently.

"Mmm." She rolled away from him.

He sighed and shook her again.  "Wake up TenTen."

She opened her brown eyes lazily and focused on him.  "Is it time to wake up the kids yet?"

"No." He replied.  "I want to ask you something."

She quickly hid the annoyance that threatened to twist her features.  "What's wrong?"

He was instantly thankful for the darkness, so there was no way she could see the sweat starting to gather on his forehead.  "That story you told the kids tonight, did you tell them what happened after that?"

She didn't answer for a long moment, and he shook her once more to make sure she hadn't fallen asleep again.  "I'm not sleeping Neji.  Of course I didn't tell them about _that_."

"Good." A feeling of relief suddenly washed over her husband.

"That's a story for another night."


End file.
